LC-3 · Consumer Risk Bulletins

Kinematic Risk Consumer Bulletin

# Kinematic Risk Consumer Bulletin

**LRRK Watch / Open-Source Intelligence** — Signals across consumer systems that sense, move, and act in homes and yards.

**Issue type.** Monthly KRCB (LC-3 / Consumer). Calendar month. Not the weekday 24–48h poll.

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Collection cutoff | 31 December 2022 |
| Window | 1–31 December 2022 |
| Written | 19 August 2026 (retrospective reconstruction) |
| Data label | Open-source intelligence // LRRK analytic product |
| Handling | Public-source material. Image rights require separate verification before publication. |
| Scope | Consumer kinematic electronics only (home, yard, companion, educational). |
| Classes in frame | Robot vacuums / mop combos · robotic lawn mowers · window-cleaning robots · pool-cleaning robots · robot pets / companion animals · social / desk companions · educational / programmable kits · robotic litter boxes · security / home patrol robots · consumer robotic arms · elder-care / assistive companions · kitchen / food-prep robots · toy / entertainment robots · niche outdoor / garden robots · emerging general-purpose or humanoid home robots |
| Spine | Reputable channels for injury, death, incidents, and safety recalls (CPSC, Health Canada, EU Safety Gate, UK OPSS, ACCC, manufacturer recall pages, named newsrooms, dockets). |
| Color | Message boards, consumer forums, and Reddit — annotated context only. Never Fact without a reputable primary. |

## Executive read

### BLUF

MIT Technology Review publishes the J7 training-image leak on 19 December. Development Roomba J7-series units, June–November 2020, sent about two million images to Scale AI; Venezuelan annotators posted 15 screenshots — including a woman on a toilet and a child’s visible face — in closed groups. iRobot says the units were never consumer SKUs, had green “video recording in progress” stickers, and that faces including minors are not treated as sensitive because the company trains human-avoidance. This is not a retail toilet-photo leak. No December official safety recall was found.

### Key judgments

1. **[Assessment — High confidence]** The 19 December MIT TR story is the canonical camera-on-the-floor + outsourced-annotator case. iRobot confirmed the 15 images and the 2020 dates.
2. **[Assessment — High confidence]** Do not write that retail Roombas photographed a woman on the toilet and iRobot leaked it. The record is development / paid-tester units and a crowdsourced annotator.
3. **[Inference — Moderate confidence]** This file will supply the privacy clause in later Amazon–iRobot sentences. That is an inference about 2023–24, not a December finding.

### Analytic labels
- **Fact** — verified reporting or primary record
- **Assessment** — analytic judgment
- **Inference** — reasoned but not directly observed
- **Uncertainty** — unresolved information gap

### Source grades
- **A1** — authoritative primary record / directly confirmed
- **B1–B2** — generally reliable and corroborated
- **C3** — useful but requires caution (typical for forums)

---

## 01. MIT Technology Review — Roomba J7 development images reached Scale AI annotators

*Event / publication dates: images June–November 2020 (out of window as events); MIT Technology Review 19 December 2022*

**Product class.** Robot vacuums (camera SKUs)

**Verified record — [Fact — A1 / B1]** MIT Technology Review, 19 December 2022: 15 screenshots posted by Venezuelan Scale AI gig workers in closed Facebook/Discord groups. Images from **development J7-series** units, June–November 2020, United States / Japan / France / Germany / Spain. Most intimate stills: a young woman on a toilet; a boy who appears eight or nine, face visible, on a hallway floor. iRobot confirmed the images were captured by its Roombas in 2020 and came from “special development robots with hardware and software modifications that are **not and never were present on iRobot consumer products for purchase**,” given to “paid collectors and employees” who signed written agreements. Devices labeled with a bright green sticker “video recording in progress”; collectors told to “remove anything they deem sensitive from any space the robot operates in, including children.” About **2 million** images shared with Scale; Scale confirmed **13 of 15** from an R&D project (two images unexplained). iRobot terminated the leaking provider. iRobot does **not** treat faces, including minors, as sensitive because it says it must train human-avoidance. [MIT Technology Review](https://www.technologyreview.com/2022/12/19/1065306/roomba-irobot-robot-vacuums-artificial-intelligence-training-data-privacy/).

**Do not write:** retail Roombas photographed a woman on the toilet and iRobot leaked it. That is the viral version.

**Amazon–iRobot is pending**, not closed. MIT TR’s “recently acquired” wording is incorrect as of this window.

**Threat landscape.** A camera on the floor plus an outsourced labeling chain. “We don’t sell maps” does not answer “a stranger saw the bathroom.” Physical harm is not alleged.

**Forum / community notes.**
- none independently opened. Secondary owner-split accounts remain C3 and were not used.

**Intelligence assessment.** [Assessment — High confidence] Canonical annotator-leak case; iRobot on the record. [Inference — Moderate confidence] This is why later merger sentences will say “consumer privacy.” [Uncertainty] Whether any retail firmware path ever sent equivalent frames is not established.

**Opportunity.** A regulator finding on human-in-the-loop annotation of home-robot video, or a change in the “faces are not sensitive” policy.

**LRRK relevance.** Sense / Move / Act and Kestrel (training data as a trust path). Passport: who sees the frame. Watch: Amazon–iRobot file.

**Confidence.** High on the MIT TR facts and iRobot’s on-record responses. Low on retail-unit equivalence.

---

## 02. Carry — Amazon–iRobot still pending; Husqvarna AWD still live

*Event / publication dates: agreement 4 August 2022; Second Request 19 September 2022; vote 17 October 2022; Husqvarna CPSC 17 February 2022; all still live*

**Product class.** Robot vacuums / mop combos; robotic lawn mowers

**Verified record — [Fact — A1]** No December HSR close or CPSC restatement found. [CPSC 22-727](https://www.cpsc.gov/Recalls/2022/Husqvarna-Recalls-All-Wheel-Drive-Robotic-Lawnmowers-Due-to-Fire-Hazard-Recall-Alert).

**Threat landscape.** The J7 story now sits next to a pending platform buyer. Physical fire file unchanged.

**Forum / community notes.**
- none found.

**Intelligence assessment.** [Assessment — High confidence] Deal not closed; fire file not closed.

**Opportunity.** HSR next step; Husqvarna uptake.

**LRRK relevance.** Watch.

**Confidence.** High on “still live.”

---

## Forward indicators

1. FTC or EC next formal step on Amazon–iRobot.
2. Any regulator finding on home-robot training-image annotation.
3. Husqvarna OTA completion.
4. Any official 2022 floor-vac thermal file (none through December).
5. Astro first named incident.

> **Collection integrity.** One new spine signal (MIT TR). Killed: retail toilet-photo leak; “Amazon already owns iRobot”; December official safety recall. No December CPSC/Health Canada/OPSS consumer-robot recall found. Forum empty.


*LRRK — security assurance for systems that sense, move, and act.*

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