Robot Grabs, Crushes Man To Death At Volkswagen Plant

A 22-year-old contractor at a Volkswagen plant in Baunatal, near Frankfurt, was setting up a stationary robot when it grabbed him and crushed him against a metal plate. He later died of his injuries.

Based on the company’s initial investigation, Volkswagen spokesman Heiko Hillwig said the incident can be blamed on human error – the robot was probably just doing what it was programmed to do by a human who made a mistake. “It normally operates within a confined area at the plant, grabbing auto parts and manipulating them,” Hillwig said adding another contractor was present when the incident occurred, but was not harmed since he was outside the safety cage while the victim was inside the cage installing it.

Rise of the machines…is it happening? Robot kills a man at Volkswagen plant http://t.co/mzqcJVmQ1f pic.twitter.com/mOqMvfWEkv

— RT (@RT_com) July 2, 2015

The robot was not one of the new generations of lightweight collaborative robots that work side-by-side with workers on the production line and forgo safety cages. This robot was apparently used for making the electric engines for the Volkswagen automobiles.

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