A worker was crushed to death by a robot that mistook it for a box of vegetables on a conveyor belt. The man in his 40s was checking the sensors on a machine at an agricultural products distribution center in Gyeongsangnam-do, South Korea, when the tragedy occurred.
The robot's job was to lift boxes of chili peppers onto a pallet, but it accidentally grabbed the victim and pushed him against the conveyor belt, crushing his face and chest.
The man was taken to the hospital following the accident last Tuesday, but later died. After a police investigation, authorities stated that it seemed the robot had malfunctioned and that Box, the man, had been identified.
The investigation will look into the safety procedures in place at the distribution center and whether there was any reason for negligence on the part of management, Yonhap News reported.
Officials from Dongseongseong Export Agricultural Complex, which owns the facility, called for improvements to the safety system following the tragic accident.
According to local media reports, the robot's test was scheduled for November 6, but was postponed for two days because a sensor issue needed to be resolved. This is not the first time a robot-related accident has occurred in South Korea.
A worker was crushed to death by a robot that mistook it for a box of vegetables
In March of last year, a man in his 50s was seriously injured after being crushed by a robot at an automobile factory. Elsewhere, a robot participating in a chess tournament in Russia last year grabbed a 7-year-old boy and broke his finger after the robot moved faster than expected.
According to Russian media, the incident took place during a match at the Moscow Open. The head of the Moscow Chess Federation, Sergei Lazarev, told TASS after the tournament that the robot broke the boy's finger.
Lazarev said the machine has appeared many times before, but without any excitement. Footage of the July 19, 2022 incident published by the Baza Telegram channel shows the boy's finger stuck in the robotic arm for several seconds, and he appears visibly uncomfortable.
A woman accompanied by three men rushed there and freed the boy from the robot's hands.
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