From PJ Media:
A South Korean plant worker was crushed to death by an industrial robot at a vegetable packing plant. First reports indicated that the robot mistakenly identified the worker as a box. Although that might not be 100% true, it still is a frightening scenario.
According to police, a man in the southern county of Goseong died after an industrial robot grabbed and pressed him into a conveyor belt, resulting in injuries to the man’s head and chest that ultimately led to his death.
The worker was an employee of a company that installs robotic workers into plants. The machine was one of two pick and place robots utilized by the facility that packages vegetables such as bell peppers. These robotic machines are not uncommon in South Korea’s agricultural communities.
The victim was called to the plant to examine whether the machine was working properly. The man, described as a robotics company employee, was checking the sensors on the robot ahead of a test run at the plant that was planned for Wednesday. The test run had reportedly been pushed back two days due to the robot malfunctioning. As the employee worked late into the night to make sure the robot would function smoothly, the robotic arm grabbed him and forced him onto a conveyor belt, crushing his face and chest. He was rushed to a hospital but succumbed to his injuries.
In an interview with the Washington Post, Kang Jin-gi, lead investigator at the Goseong Police Station, indicated the machine "wasn't an advanced, artificial intelligence-powered robot, but a machine that simply picks up boxes and puts them on pallets."
The ongoing theory is that the man was likely holding a box in his hand when the robot snatched him up and crushed him.
