At a produce distribution center in Goseong-gun, South Korea, a tragic incident took place when an industrial robot misinterpreted a worker in his 40s as a box, according to police reports reported by The Korea Herald.
The accident took place on Tuesday around 7:45 p.m., and the employee of the robotics company that supplies automation to the Donggoseong Agricultural Export Complex was inspecting the sensors of the robot designed to handle boxes of peppers and place them on a pallet.
In circumstances still under investigation, the robot appeared to misinterpret the man’s presence, mistaking him for one of the boxes of produce. As a result, the robotic arm pushed the worker’s upper body against the conveyor belt, trapping him and causing serious injuries to his chest and face. After the incident, the man was rushed to the hospital, where he died.
Goseong police are preparing to launch an investigation into the events at the distribution center. Everything points to a malfunction of the robot, which should have identified the worker and not confused him with the boxes of agricultural products. It has also emerged that there is the possibility of charges being opened for negligence in the performance of its duties, as it is expected to clarify why the robot could not adequately distinguish between a human being and the boxes it manipulates.
Furthermore, and as reported by the South Korean news agency Yonhap, this robot that ended the life of the employee was scheduled to be installed in the pepper classification plant on November 6, but said installation had to be delayed, since they detected problems with sensors.
Following the tragedy, the owner of the Donggoseong Agricultural Export Complex has urged the establishment of an “accurate and safe” system for the plant. This event also highlights the growing presence of robotics in the industry, not only in South Korea, but globally. In the case of Seoul, the increase in robotics has occurred due to a shortage of labor.
On a global scale, large companies such as Amazon have incorporated robots into their logistics operations for repetitive tasks, so the importance of addressing not only efficiency in automation, but also the safety and discernment capacity of robots in complex work environments grows. even more important after the death of this employee.