PressTV... A robot has killed a factory technician at a Volkswagen plant in Germany, the automaker says.
The 22-year-old external contractor died of injuries on Monday in a Volkswagen production plant in Baunatal, AFP quoted VW spokesman Heiko Hillwig as saying on Wednesday
He “was part of a team that was setting up the stationary robot when it grabbed and crushed him against a metal plate,” Hillwig added.
The robot, though being old and outdated, had not suffered any technical defect and initial conclusions suggested that human error was to blame, the VW spokesman further noted.
He added that it “was not one of the new generation of lightweight collaborative robots that work side by side with workers on the production line and forgo safety cages.”
Fatalities related to robots are rare since safety cages are installed around them to prevent accidental contact with humans. However, in this incident the victim was standing in the cage, an act against safety measures. His colleague who was standing outside of the cage was not harmed.
According to Hillwig, prosecutors have launched a probe into how the incident happened.
RS/AS/MHB