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WHEN Wanda Holbrook went to work on July 7, 2015 she expected it to be just a regular Tuesday.
Instead the freelance maintenance technician was killed by rogue robot who had veered into the area she was working in and killed her by crushing her head.
That is the shocking incident that sits at the centre of a lawsuit filed this week by Ms Holbrook’s widowed husband Bill, in a case that could have broader implications as the world moves towards a sophisticated automated workplace.
Really scary stuff! So sad for the woman and husband.
Why is this particularily scary? Industrial accidents have occurred since forever and frankly You're way more likely to have some crazy co-worker shoot up the place or another co-worked screw up and kill themselves or you by doing something dumb.
Why is this particularily scary? Industrial accidents have occurred since forever and frankly You're way more likely to have some crazy co-worker shoot up the place or another co-worked screw up and kill themselves or you by doing something dumb.
The headline makes it sound like some Terminator-type bipedal robot malevolently hunted down and killed someone, though buying into that idea does require a fair amount of gullibility on the part of readers. In reality, this 'robot' is just an automated machine.
A while back I was in a warehouse full of driver-less forklifts which zipped around, collecting pallets per orders uploaded to a database to which they connect via wireless, and busily loaded those pallets into waiting trucks. A safety feature could fail, and someone could get run over.
And then some editor in search of clicks would write the headline WAREHOUSE WORKER KILLED BY ROGUE ROBOT!.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dude111
NO.... They should be all shut down!!!!!!!
Yes, let's de-automate factories so everything costs twice as much, and so more workers are working in those factories. Then we'll go back to the industrial death rates of the pre-automation era, which were considerably higher than today. Then at all the funerals, friends and family can be consoled with a heartfelt "Yeah, but at least he wasn't killed by a robot!".
The headline makes it sound like some Terminator-type bipedal robot malevolently hunted down and killed someone, though buying into that idea does require a fair amount of gullibility on the part of readers. In reality, this 'robot' is just an automated machine.
A while back I was in a warehouse full of driver-less forklifts which zipped around, collecting pallets per orders uploaded to a database to which they connect via wireless, and busily loaded those pallets into waiting trucks. A safety feature could fail, and someone could get run over.
And then some editor in search of clicks would write the headline WAREHOUSE WORKER KILLED BY ROGUE ROBOT!.
Yes, let's de-automate factories so everything costs twice as much, and so more workers are working in those factories. Then we'll go back to the industrial death rates of the pre-automation era, which were considerably higher than today. Then at all the funerals, friends and family can be consoled with a heartfelt "Yeah, but at least he wasn't killed by a robot!".
I'll open up many funeral homes, and cemeteries for this event so I can afford the higher prices.
Nothing new here. The first person often cited as being the first killed by a robot was in 1979, Robert Williams, in a Ford Auto plant. He made a mistake by not following all the safety procedures. In reality it was probably before that.
There have been and will be many more fatalities caused by programmable machines. The Tesla could be considered a robot, it's a machine that can be controlled with computer code. The Tesla driver who was decapitated by driving under a semi-trailer also made a fatal error - not following Tesla's user manual. However, I also feel Tesla was partially to blame for calling the feature "Autopilot" when it should have been called a "crash avoidance system" or something similar.
Any machine that can interact with or manipulate objects in the environment without direct input from a person could be considered a "robot." The only difference between a 1979 robot and today's is level of complexity both the code and machinery to carry out the instructions.
What do you think drones, cruise missiles, and ICBMs are? Flying robots that can deliver mass death and destruction. anywhere in the world. They've already killed probably tens of thousands of people. Your worst nightmare is already here and has been for decades.
I've worked with similar equipment (robotic welding), in an auto parts supply plant. Please keep in mind that "Wanda" was a skilled maintenance tech, not your typical line worker. I'll guarantee that human error was the root cause of this accident. Safety procedures weren't followed....machines don't just "take off" on their own.
Three major power sources involved with most automated equipment: Electrical, mechanical, and pneumatic. All three have to be de-energized before working on the equipment or in the work envelope. Not sure if it's de-energized? Can't be in the envelope. Can't be working on the welder.
Lock out/Tag out systems in place for DECADES, just in case someone didn't see Wanda and fired things up......
The 'lil write up that was linked was terrible at describing the accident.
Robots do what you tell/program them to do. They don't just go "rogue".
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