In a tragic incident reported by Yonhap news agency on Wednesday, a man in his 40s lost his life when a robot at an agricultural produce distribution center in South Gyeongsang province failed to differentiate him from the boxes it was handling.
The victim, an employee of a robotics company, was inspecting the sensor operations of the industrial robot, responsible for lifting boxes of bell peppers and arranging them on a pallet. Unfortunately, a malfunction occurred, causing the robot to mistake the man for a box.
According to the police, the robotic arm pressed the man’s upper body against the conveyor belt, resulting in severe injuries to his face and chest. Despite being promptly transferred to the hospital, the man died due to his injuries.
This incident follows a similar case in March, where a man in his 50s suffered serious injuries after being trapped by a robot while working at an automobile parts manufacturing plant.
