A robot employed by the Gumi City Council in South Korea was recently discovered unresponsive at the bottom of a two-meter staircase, leading locals to label it the country’s first robot “suicide.”
The incident occurred on June 20 around 4 pm. Witnesses reported that the robot, named ‘Robot Supervisor,’ had been behaving oddly, circling in one spot as if disoriented, just moments before its fall.
The robot, manufactured by Bear Robotics, a California-based company, was quickly collected by city council officials and sent back to the company for analysis. However, the cause of its erratic behavior remains unknown. The robot had an employee card and operated from 9 am to 4 pm, similar to human employees. Unlike most robots, which are restricted to a single floor, this one could navigate between floors and even call the elevator autonomously.
A Gumi city official stated that the robot “assisted with daily document deliveries, city promotion, and provided information” to residents, making it an integral part of the city hall. Local media speculated whether the robot’s workload contributed to its malfunction.
Appointed in August last year, Robot Supervisor was one of the first of its kind in the city. The International Federation of Robotics notes that South Korea has one of the highest robot densities in the world, with one industrial robot for every ten human employees. When asked about replacing the robot, the city council indicated there are no current plans to replace the “demised” Robot Supervisor.
This incident is not the first of its kind. In 2017, a security robot named Steve, working in Washington, DC, reportedly “died by suicide” by drowning in a fountain. However, further investigation revealed that Steve had slipped on a loose brick surface before falling into the water.
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