Robots May Imperil Safety, Group Warns

Robots can cause safety hazards as well as provide help by taking over routine jobs, so designers, manufacturers and workers need to become more safety conscious, the International Labor Organization said Friday.

Citing a Japanese factory accident in 1981, when a mechanic was crushed to death between a robot and a processing machine, the U.N. specialized agency said most mishaps involving robots are a result of human error and could be avoided if workers were more aware of risks.

Designers should ensure that each robot processing unit has built-in features to protect workers from possible injury, electric shock, fire hazards or other dangers through humans or robots straying into each other’s working area, the ILO aid.

Robots should be designed to emit a signal if they start up or move on their own within range of workers, it added.