A 22-year-old worker in a Volkswagen assembly plant in Germany died Monday when a robot killed him.
The man was inside a metal cage setting up the stationary robot when it reached out and grabbed him, crushing him against a metal plate.
Another man was inside the cage when it happened, but was not hurt, AP reported. Investigators believe the accident was the result of human error. The robot’s job is to reach out and grab parts for assembly. Prosecutors are trying to determine if charges will be brought, and against whom.
The factory did not release the man’s name.
The internet, as usual, lit up with jokes about the death being the beginning of the robot war. One Twitter user, Sarah O’Connor, received a barrage of attention after she tweeted a link to the story.
O’Connor is a reporter with Financial Times. Her name is very similar to the female protagonist in the Terminator movies, Sara Connor, whose son is tasked with saving the world from the evil robot empire, Skynet.
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