Tragic Accident at Volkswagen Plant Results in Robot-Related Death

By: | July 17th, 2015

An incident that reminds you of a sci-fi movie occurred in one of Volkswagen’s production plants in Germany. A 22-year-old man died, after a robot grabbed him and crushed him against a metal plate.

The victim was a member of a team that was tasked with setting up the stationary robot when it grabbed him. The killer robot’s job was to operate within a confined area, picking up car parts and perform set tasks in the assembly process.

As per Volkswagen spokesman Heiko Hillwig, human error was to blame for the incident, rather than a problem with the robot.

Experts dispelled the prospect of science fiction becoming reality; they explained that the robot involved in this tragedy could not be held responsible. Now prosecutors are investigating the matter and deciding whom to prosecute in this case.

As per government data, robots have been responsible for at least 26 workplace deaths in the US alone in last 30 years. The first robot-related death was reported in 1971 at a Ford automobile plant in Michigan.

Nidhi Goyal

Nidhi is a gold medalist Post Graduate in Atmospheric and Oceanic Sciences.

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