Death by Robot
As the use of autonomous machines increases in society, so too has the chance of robot-related fatalities
Elaine Herzberg
Was killed recently by an Uber autonomous car that hit the 49-year-old at approximately 40mph as she was crossing the road in Tempe, Arizona. Police confirmed there was an operator in the Volvo SUV at the time of the collision, and stated that it didn’t appear the car had slowed down.
Robert Williams
Cited as the first human killed by a robot, Williams was an assembly worker at Ford’s Flat Rock plant in Michigan. He was crushed to death by the arm of a one-ton robot on the production line on 25 January 1979. His family was awarded $10m in damages. The court concluded that he was struck on the head due to inadequate safety measures.
Surgery patients
While robot-assisted surgery has allowed surgeons to perform operations remotely with minimal invasiveness, a 2016 US study found that it was linked to the deaths of 144 people between 2008 and 2013.
Causes of death included parts falling into patients’ bodies, machines turning off/on at the wrong time and loss of video feeds. “Despite widespread adoption of robotic systems… a non-negligible number of technical difficulties and complications are still being experienced during procedures,” the study said.
Micah Johnson
Believed to be the first person killed by a police robot. In July 2016, Johnson was involved in a standoff with Dallas law enforcement after fatally shooting five officers and injuring seven others. Police attached a block of C-4 explosive to a bomb-disposal robot and detonated it when it was near the suspect. “We saw no other option,” said the Dallas police chief.
Nine South African soldiers
In October 2007, an Oerlikon GDF-005 semi-autonomous anti-aircraft gun jammed and exploded before firing 250 high-explosive rounds at soldiers who were training with it. The weapon is capable of tracking targets and reloading automatically. “I think it is bad luck more than anything else,” one expert told the New Scientist.
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