Is technology destroying humanity? In an incident that happened infrequently, media outlets reported that a robot in South Korea crushed a man to death because it was unable to distinguish him from the food cartons it was handling. The incident occurred while the man, in his forties and employed by a robotics company, was conducting a robot inspection.
A robot was perplexed by a crate of vegetables.
The robotic arm erroneously grasped the individual while searching for a box of vegetables. The machine then pushed him across the conveyor belt, crushing his face and torso, according to the South Korean news agency Yonhap. Despite being rushed to the hospital, the individual ultimately passed away from his injuries.
According to Yonhap, the robot’s task was to choose pepper crates and transfer them to pallets. The agency, citing police, reported that the man was examining the sensor operations of the robot prior to its test run at the pepper sorting facility in South Gyeongsang province on Wednesday (November 8).
Due to issues with the robot’s sensor, the test was two days later than expected on November 6.
The individual, an employee of the organization that produced the robotic arm, was conducting inspections on multiple machinery throughout the wee hours of Wednesday when the robot experienced a malfunction.
An official from the Donggoseong Export Agricultural Complex issued a statement following the incident stating that a “precise and secure” system is required.
Ownership of the facility is attributed to the Donggoseong Export Agricultural Complex. A South Korean man in his fifties was rendered gravely injured in March when a robot entrapment occurred at an automotive parts manufacturing facility, where he was employed.
