Korean Public Service Robot Takes Fatal Fall Down Stairs

A service robot working at a council in South Korea experienced an unusual incident after falling down a two-meter-high flight of stairs, which some have called the country’s first case of robot “suicide”. The robot, named “Robot Supervisor”, stopped working after rolling down the stairs at 4:00 pm local time on June 20th. Witnesses reported that the robot mysteriously rotated in place before the fall occurred, hitting hard on the stairs between the 1st and 2nd floors of the city hall. The city council is currently investigating the cause of the fall, with the robot’s manufacturer set to analyze the debris collected from the accident.

Selected in August 2023, the robot was one of the first of its kind in the city, manufactured by Bear Robotics, a service robot startup based in California, USA. The robot, which works from 9 am to 6 pm, has its own civil servant ID card and can navigate between floors by manually pressing the elevator buttons. South Korea is known for its high use of robots, with the country having the highest robot density in the world. The incident has raised questions about the ethical implications of deploying robots in roles traditionally filled by humans, as well as concerns about the workload and well-being of robots in the workforce.

Despite the accident, the Gumi City Council has no immediate plans to introduce a second public service robot. The situation highlights the complexities and challenges of integrating robots into various aspects of society, and sparks discussions on how best to ensure the responsible and ethical use of this technology moving forward.