Death by robot

Death by robot refers to accidental or human error deaths caused by interaction with robotics. As man and machine becomes more common, instances of injuries and death will continue to rise. Newer technology include collaborative robots that work side-by-side with workers, thus the chance for death is minimized.

Ariel drones are mechanical devices guided by a computer. Thousands of people, terrorists and innocent victims, have met an untimely death from the air. Fifteen years after widespread adoption, surgical robots have been linked to 144 deaths.

Eventually driverless, autonomous cars will become common place. The industry claims it will reduce automobile deaths but that technology may just decide who lives and who dies. A Florida man is the first person to die by self-driving automobile.

Worker deaths

• A German contractor working in a Volkswagen plant was picked up and crushed to death by a robot.

• A man working on a robotic welding arm was pierced to death in India.

• In 1979, a 25-year-old Ford Motor assembly line worker was killed when a robotic arm struck him in the head. The first known Death by robot.

• In 1981, man was killed as he tried to fix a robot at a Kawasaki Heavy Industries plant in Japan when it pushed him into a grinder.