An apparently freedom-loving vacuum robot has kept the Austrian town of Wieselburg in suspense and also stirred up dust in the media.
The device escaped from a grocery store at the beginning of the week and was found again after a search call, as Ingrid Pruckner from the Wieselburger Schmankerlladen told the German Press Agency on Thursday.
The robot has been cleaning the shop for a few weeks, where Pruckner gave it the nickname Fluffy.
A surveillance video from the store shows Fluffy's escape: At seven o'clock sharp, when the robot has usually finished cleaning, the store's sliding door opened and closed once for its morning test run.
The vacuum cleaner rolled out onto the main square.
"He took advantage of the moment," said Pruckner.
When Pruckner noticed that the robot had fled, he was nowhere to be found outside.
An appeal on Facebook and a cover story in the Viennese free newspaper "Heute" followed.
A woman then reported that a garbage collector removed Fluffy from a sidewalk as what she thought was garbage.
Finally, the device was found in the municipal collection center and handed over to the owner, as an employee confirmed.
In case Fluffy escapes again, Pruckner has given him a sticker.