South Korean man killed by robot that failed to differentiate him from boxes

A South Korean man in his 40s, who worked for a robotics company, was crushed to death by a robot after the machine apparently failed to differentiate him from the boxes of produce it was handling.

The man was inspecting the robot’s sensor operations at a distribution centre for agricultural produce in South Gyeongsang province.

The robot was lifting boxes filled with bell peppers and placing them on a pallet when it malfunctioned and identified the man as a box, according to the Yonhap news agency.

The robotic arm pushed the man’s upper body down against the conveyor belt, crushing his face and chest, according to Yonhap.

According to the report, the man was transferred to the hospital but died later.

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.

With inputs from agencies