Factory Robot Kills Worker at Volkswagen Plant in Germany

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A plant assembly robot has killed a contractor that worked at setting up the stationary robot.

The man died on Monday at the Volkswagen plant in Baunatal, situated at about 100 km north of Frankfurt.

The 22-year-old man was part of a team that worked at assembling the robot for a new electric motor production line.

Apparently, when the robot was booted, it grabbed the man and thrust him against a metal slab, crushing him. The man that was working for the company that built the robot in Meissen in Saxony, suffered severe contusions in his chest area. He was resuscitated at the scene of the accident, but unfortunately died at the hospital.

German sources at The Local cite that he was standing in the robot production line area while the other members of the team were in the outer area. However, another worker was standing next to him when the accident happened, but he escaped unharmed.

The robot was still property of the Meissen-based firm for whom the man was working, and the machine wasn't yet handed over to Volkswagen, the car company told the reporters. This way, the car manufacturer won't be charged by prosecutors investigating the case.

However, in this case it's quite difficult to charge someone as machines aren't yet "officially" sentient beings to have them brought to court.

It's worth investigating if this was truly an accident or first signs of robot "malintent."