A man has been reportedly crushed to death by a robot in South Korea, according to a report in the Yonhap news agency, after the industrial machine apparently failed to differentiate him from the boxes of produce it was handling.
The man, identified as a robotics company worker in his 40s, worked at a distribution center for agricultural produce in South Gyeongsang province.
It was learnt that the industrial robot was lifting boxes filled with bell peppers and placing them on a pallet when it appears that the robot malfunctioned and identified the man as vegetables box.
It was further learnt that the robot arm was confused and in error, grabbed him as if he was a box of vegetables it was programmed to handle and positioned him against the conveyor belt. The robotic arm then pushed the man’s upper body down against the conveyor belt, crushing his face and chest in the process.
The Yonhap news agency report claims that the man had been checking the robot’s sensor ahead of the test run at the pepper sorting plant. He was reportedly called to check problems with the robot’s sensor that were noticed two days earlier.
Also, according to Times of India, the victim was taken to the hospital but died later, the report said. In a statement, an official from the Donggoseong Export Agricultural Complex, which owns the plant, called for a “precise and safe” system to be established, Yonhap reported.
This is the second such case reported in South Korea this year. In March, a South Korean man in his 50s suffered serious injuries after getting trapped by a robot while working at an automobile parts manufacturing plant.
The tragic incident involving the man and the robot raises serious concerns about the safety and ethical implications of using robots in our everyday lives. It is imperative that we conduct thorough safety assessments and implement robust safety measures to prevent such incidents from happening again.
Additionally, we need to engage in open and transparent conversations about the ethical implications of artificial intelligence and robotics, ensuring that these technologies are used responsibly and for the benefit of humanity, Times of India stated.
