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Volkswagen Factory Worker Killed By a Robot
m.alessandrini writes: A worker at a Volkswagen factory in Germany has died, after a robot grabbed him and crushed him against a metal plate. This is perhaps the first severe accident of this kind in a western factory, and is sparking debate about who is responsible for the accident, the man who was servicing the robot beyond its protection cage, or the robot's hardware/software developers who didn't put enough safety checks. Will this distinction be more and more important in the future, when robots will be more widespread?
The title of this article is somewhat misleading. It says that a worker was killed by a robot - which would suggest a technological problem.
However, the article states that:
"...officials believe that human error was to blame for the incident, rather than a problem with the robot."
Perhaps the title should read something like "Fatal accident caused by a human involving robot at car factory"
Regardless of the title, it is still very sad that this happened.
Political correctness is really just herd psychology pushed by insecure people who desperately seek social conformity.
Specifically, who violated the lockout tagout rules. If you're going into the cage, it has to be locked out. Sucks that testing is hard without being in there, but these rules are nothing new, and have little to do with the "robot" part.
Pretty clear, according to my understanding of OSHA liability in the US anyway:
"...the man who was servicing the robot beyond its protection cage..."
Lock out/tag out and energy isolation (ie unplugging, as well as well as releasing/securing stored energy (compressed gases, springs, kinetic, etc) is ABSOLUTELY the responsibility of the service person.
-Styopa
If you are dumb enough to get into a cage match with a robot...
Sleep your way to a whiter smile...date a dentist!