The first administrative officer robot in South Korea was declared dead by the municipal council on Wednesday after it fell down some steps. The incident was reported in the local media, which lamented the first robot suicide in the nation.
The Gumi City Council in South Korea declared that the robot was discovered to be unresponsive following its apparent fall last week down a two-meter (six-and-a-half-foot) stairway.
According to a city council official who spoke to AFP, witnesses saw the robot police “circling in one spot as if something was there” prior to the disaster. However, the precise reason for the fall is still under investigation.
“Pieces have been collected and will be analysed by the company,” the official said, adding that the robot had “helped with daily document deliveries, city promotion, and delivered information” to local residents.
“It was officially a part of the city hall, one of us,” another official said. “It worked diligently.”
The apparent robot suicide raised questions in local media headlines, with one headline asking “Why did the diligent civil officer do it?” Or did the robot ask, “Was work too hard”?
The robot was one of the first in the city to be utilized in this way when it was assigned in August 2023.
The robot, which had its own civil service officer card and operated from 9 am to 6 pm, was created by California-based Bear Robotics, a business that makes robot waiters.
The Gumi City Council robot had the ability to call an elevator and traverse floors on its own, in contrast to other robots that are usually limited to using one floor.
One of the world’s most passionate robot users is South Korea.
According to the International Federation of Robotics, it boasts the highest robot density in the world, with one industrial robot for every ten employees.
According to Gumi City Council, there are presently no plans to adopt a second robot officer, the AFP was informed.
