The Bot Company Faces $12,000 Suit Over Airbnb Robot Testing Damage

5 articles · Updated · Ars Technica · Jun 1

A May 26 lawsuit in San Francisco Superior Court seeks more than $12,000 from The Bot Company over alleged damage to an Airbnb rental during a roughly two-week stay in April.
Sean Donovan says the Bay Area startup’s employees appeared to use his former childhood home for robotic prototype testing, with bundles of wires, a 6-foot-tall treaded robot and more than 30 people rotating through the property.
The complaint lists paint and floor damage, a damaged kitchen doorframe, bent dishwasher racks, water damage, scratched furniture, broken laser-cut art and harm to an antique family dining table.
Donovan also alleges cabinets and drawers were emptied and rearranged, while a shoe rack and a pair of shoes disappeared from a locked bedroom closet in what the filing says could be a criminal matter.

When a robot damages a rental home, who pays: the tech startup, Airbnb, or the host?

With startups using homes as secret labs, are our rental laws prepared for the consequences?

Why would a $2 billion robotics company risk its reputation by secretly testing products in a private home?