A 40-year-old man working at a produce-sorting facility in South Korea was accidentally crushed to death by a robot that somehow got "confused," mistaking the worker for a box of vegetables.
The automaton reportedly took hold of the technician’s arm using its arm and tongs – crushing his face and chest. Officials believe the robot’s system had mistaken the worker for a box of food and tried to lift him up. The victim was taken to the hospital who died shortly thereafter as a result of his injuries.
The incident occurred on Nov. 7 at the Donggoseong Export Agriculture Complex in South Gyeongsang Province. The Korean Yonhap News Agency report said the technician was diagnosing a problem with the robot's sensor and checking to see whether the sensor electronics were working properly ahead of a scheduled test run of the mechanoid the next day.
An official and spokesperson at the complex told reporters the tragic accident happened after a change to the plant's workflow to "make the robot, which the facility has been using for about five years, more efficient and functioning properly."
"We have been using robots well with less [human] labor," added the official. "Recently, we changed the work line and entrusted the automation’s work to more efficient use. Robots that can be used in facility’s cultivation farms are also being developed, so a precise and safe system must be established." (Related: Globalists following planetary script to REPLACE HUMANS with AI systems… you are now obsolete.)
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According to NBC News, the robot was one of two used at the complex and primarily used to lift boxes of bell peppers and other vegetables exported to other Asian countries and move them onto pallets. The Korean news outlet said mechanoids are common in South Korea’s agricultural hubs.
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Gosong Police Station Investigations Department head Kang Jin-gi said the robot wasn't an advanced, artificial intelligence-powered robot, but a machine that simply picks up boxes and puts them on pallets. He added that the police were working with related agencies to determine whether the machine had technical defects or safety issues.
Another Korean police officer who did not want to be named because he wasn’t authorized to talk to reporters, said they were also looking into the possibility of human error. He said the robot’s sensors are designed to identify boxes and security camera footage indicated the man had moved near the robot with a box in his hands, which likely triggered the machine's reaction.
Per the camera footage, "It’s clearly not a case where a robot confused a human with a box — this wasn't a very sophisticated machine," he said.
South Korea has a long history of safety accidents involving industrial robots. Just this March, Korean media reported that a manufacturing robot in a factory for automobile parts in Gunsan, North Jeolla Province, crushed and seriously injured a worker in his 50s who was examining the machine.
Last year, a worker at a milk factory in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi Province, had been fatally crushed by a robot installed near a conveyor belt.
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