Industrial Robot Crushes South Korean Worker to Death Mistaking Him for Box of Vegetables
Fatal accident involving common pick-and-place machine highlights need for increased safety measures, as South Korea, with world's highest robot density, grapples with multiple robot-related accidents in recent years.
- A South Korean technician in his 40s was crushed to death by an industrial robot at a vegetable distribution centre in Gyeongsang Province. The robot, used for lifting and transferring boxes of bell peppers, mistook the worker for a box while he was inspecting a problem with its sensor.
- The robot's mechanical arm pushed the man against the conveyor belt, causing severe injuries to his face and chest. Despite being immediately taken to the hospital, the man succumbed to his injuries.
- This tragic incident has raised concerns about safety protocols and fail-safe mechanisms in the increasing deployment of industrial automation. An official from the plant's owner, Dongseong Export Agricultural Complex, called for a 'precise and safe' system to be established.
- Previous accidents involving industrial robots have occurred in South Korea. In a recent instance, a man in his 50s was seriously injured at a car parts manufacturing plant. Across the globe, the American Journal of Industrial Medicine revealed that between 1992 and 2017, industrial robots in the US had caused the deaths of 41 people.
- In 2021, South Korea had the highest industrial robot density in the world, with 1,000 industrial robots per 10,000 employees. However, this recent event has drawn attention to the potential hazards of having humans work in close proximity to robots, particularly during maintenance and inspection.
Fox Business 