A South Korean man died from crushing injuries after a robot allegedly mistook him for a box of vegetables at his workplace Wednesday night, according to multiple reports.
The robotics company employee, who was in his 40s, was inspecting a robot’s sensors ahead of a test run Wednesday at a Korean pepper sorting plant when the incident happened, the BBC reported. The machine allegedly grabbed him and pushed him into a conveyor belt, which led him to suffer facial and chest injuries, according to WION. The man was taken to the hospital where he died from his injuries, the outlet reported. (RELATED: New Video Of Humanoid Robots Running An Obstacle Course Is The Most Terrifying Thing You’ll See Today)
Man crushed to death by robot in South Korea https://t.co/QjxFpjQjvc
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) November 8, 2023
The test run of the machine had initially been scheduled for Monday but was postponed after issues with the robot’s sensors, according to the BBC.
Police are now launching an investigation over possible negligence by the employee’s managers, the Daily Mail reported. An official from the Donggoseong Export Agricultural Complex, which owns the plant where the incident happened, said a “precise and safe” system would be established in light of the man’s death, according to the BBC.
A similar incident occurred in South Korea back in March when a 50-year-old man suffered major injuries due to getting trapped by a robot in a car parts manufacturing plant, the outlet reported.