A Swedish factory north of Stockholm was fined $3,000 after a robot nearly killed one of its employees.
Leif Johansson, the public prosecutor in charge of the case, decided to settle for a fine after he considered pressing criminal charges, The Local reported.
“I’ve never heard of a robot attacking somebody like this,” he told local media.
The victim apparently thought he had cut power to the robot used to lift heavy rocks before approaching the machine two years ago.
However, reportedly without warning, the robot came to life and grabbed hold of the man’s head. Before freeing himself, he suffered four broken ribs and came close to death.
A Discover Magazine blog poked a little fun at the episode:
All of which leaves us with one question: If incidents like these can happen with seemingly-innocent robots, what about all those robots intentionally designed to be violent?
