Associated Incidents
Managing work-related stress is tough. We've all been there, trying our best to cope with pressure at our work places. Now the bots are learning how difficult it is to be a human. A security robot patrolling at the Washington Harbour office just probably couldn't take it anymore and finally decided to end itself by jumping itself into the nearby fountain. No, not really. But it's true that the bot fell into the pool while it was patrolling the compound and then couldn't got up, effectively frying its electronic bits.
The photos posted on social media shows a Knightscope K5 floating in the water with face down and onlookers with some clicking photos while some helping to recover the 'body' from the water. The incident has left the robot lifeless, although not humans were injured in the "incident".
The reason behind this "extreme step" taken by K5 is not known. But that aside, chances are that the robot lost its balance on the steps near the pool and then fell. Given its design, which is cone shaped it would have been impossible for it to get up.
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The incident received mixed reactions on the internet. Some found the mishap funny while some empathised with the robot, which is also funny. Bilal Farooqui, a Twitter user wrote, "Our D.C. office building got a security robot. It drowned itself. We were promised flying cars, instead we got suicidal robots."
This isn't the first time that this particular robot from Knightscope has been in news. The robot, which is five-feet tall and weighs 300 pounds, made headlines last year when it tripped over a 16 months old boy, face planting him to the floor. The robot cold-heartedly walked away after injuring the boy as if nothing had happened. In an another incident, a 41-year-old Jason Sylvain was jailed after he knocked over a Knightscope security robot, causing several scratches to it.