Robot Kills Man at Volkswagen Plant in Germany
Thu, 07/02/2015 - 9:26am
The Associated Press
Get today's design engineering headlines and news - Sign up now!

A robot has killed a contractor at one of Volkswagen's production plants in Germany, the automaker said Wednesday.

The man died Monday at the plant in Baunatal, about 100 kilometers (62 miles) north of Frankfurt, VW spokesman Heiko Hillwig said.

The 22-year-old was part of a team that was setting up the stationary robot when it grabbed and crushed him against a metal plate, Hillwig said.

He said initial conclusions indicate that human error was to blame, rather than a problem with the robot, which can be programmed to perform various tasks in the assembly process. He said it normally operates within a confined area at the plant, grabbing auto parts and manipulating them.

Another contractor was present when the incident occurred, but wasn't harmed, Hillwig said. He declined to give any more details about the case, citing an ongoing investigation.

German news agency dpa reported that prosecutors were considering whether to bring charges, and if so, against whom.

On Thu, 2 Jul 2015 13:58:15 -0700 (PDT), rangerssuck
wrote:

Robot Kills Man at Volkswagen Plant in Germany
Thu, 07/02/2015 - 9:26am
The Associated Press
Get today's design engineering headlines and news - Sign up now!

A robot has killed a contractor at one of Volkswagen's production plants in Germany, the automaker said Wednesday.

The man died Monday at the plant in Baunatal, about 100 kilometers (62 miles) north of Frankfurt, VW spokesman Heiko Hillwig said.

The 22-year-old was part of a team that was setting up the stationary robot when it grabbed and crushed him against a metal plate, Hillwig said.

"I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that..."

--
Ed Huntress

Yeah, a "robot". If it was called what it is, a CNC assembly machine,
how much news play would it get?

"Ed Huntress" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 2 Jul 2015 13:58:15 -0700 (PDT), rangerssuck
wrote:

Robot Kills Man at Volkswagen Plant in Germany
Thu, 07/02/2015 - 9:26am
The Associated Press
Get today's design engineering headlines and news - Sign up now!

A robot has killed a contractor at one of Volkswagen's production plants
in Germany, the automaker said Wednesday.

The man died Monday at the plant in Baunatal, about 100 kilometers (62
miles) north of Frankfurt, VW spokesman Heiko Hillwig said.

The 22-year-old was part of a team that was setting up the stationary
robot when it grabbed and crushed him against a metal plate, Hillwig said.

"I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that..."

--
Ed Huntress

It can't be reasoned with, it can't be bargained with. It doesn't feel pity
or remorse or fear and it absolutely will not stop. Ever. Until you are
dead.



Best Regards.

Tom.

On Thu, 2 Jul 2015 16:33:24 -0700, "Howard Beal"
wrote:


"Ed Huntress" wrote in message
.. .
On Thu, 2 Jul 2015 13:58:15 -0700 (PDT), rangerssuck
wrote:

Robot Kills Man at Volkswagen Plant in Germany
Thu, 07/02/2015 - 9:26am
The Associated Press
Get today's design engineering headlines and news - Sign up now!

A robot has killed a contractor at one of Volkswagen's production plants
in Germany, the automaker said Wednesday.

The man died Monday at the plant in Baunatal, about 100 kilometers (62
miles) north of Frankfurt, VW spokesman Heiko Hillwig said.

The 22-year-old was part of a team that was setting up the stationary
robot when it grabbed and crushed him against a metal plate, Hillwig said.

"I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that..."

--
Ed Huntress

It can't be reasoned with, it can't be bargained with. It doesn't feel pity
or remorse or fear and it absolutely will not stop. Ever. Until you are
dead.



Best Regards.

Tom.

Right. I've been visiting plants with robots since the late '70s. The
damned things still give me the creeps.

Have you seen the new generation of "collaborative" robots? They're
gentle. They won't smash you against a steel plate, like the one at
VW. And, since they're computerized, nothing can ever go wrong...go
wrong...go wrong....

Here's an article on them by Kip Hanson, who is one of the better
writers in the field:

http://www.ctemag.com/aa_pages/2015/150108-Robots.html

There are many more technical articles about them around the Web.

--
Ed Huntress

"Ed Huntress" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 2 Jul 2015 16:33:24 -0700, "Howard Beal"
wrote:


"Ed Huntress" wrote in message
. ..
On Thu, 2 Jul 2015 13:58:15 -0700 (PDT), rangerssuck
wrote:

Robot Kills Man at Volkswagen Plant in Germany
Thu, 07/02/2015 - 9:26am
The Associated Press
Get today's design engineering headlines and news - Sign up now!

A robot has killed a contractor at one of Volkswagen's production
plants
in Germany, the automaker said Wednesday.

The man died Monday at the plant in Baunatal, about 100 kilometers
(62
miles) north of Frankfurt, VW spokesman Heiko Hillwig said.

The 22-year-old was part of a team that was setting up the
stationary
robot when it grabbed and crushed him against a metal plate,
Hillwig said.

"I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that..."

--
Ed Huntress

It can't be reasoned with, it can't be bargained with. It doesn't
feel pity
or remorse or fear and it absolutely will not stop. Ever. Until you
are
dead.



Best Regards.

Tom.

Right. I've been visiting plants with robots since the late '70s.
The
damned things still give me the creeps.

Have you seen the new generation of "collaborative" robots? They're
gentle. They won't smash you against a steel plate, like the one at
VW. And, since they're computerized, nothing can ever go wrong...go
wrong...go wrong....

Here's an article on them by Kip Hanson, who is one of the better
writers in the field:

http://www.ctemag.com/aa_pages/2015/150108-Robots.html

There are many more technical articles about them around the Web.

--
Ed Huntress

They are just computer programs whose bugs have fangs.

-jsw

"Ed Huntress" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 2 Jul 2015 16:33:24 -0700, "Howard Beal"
wrote:


"Ed Huntress" wrote in message
. ..
On Thu, 2 Jul 2015 13:58:15 -0700 (PDT), rangerssuck
wrote:

Robot Kills Man at Volkswagen Plant in Germany
Thu, 07/02/2015 - 9:26am
The Associated Press
Get today's design engineering headlines and news - Sign up now!

A robot has killed a contractor at one of Volkswagen's production plants
in Germany, the automaker said Wednesday.

The man died Monday at the plant in Baunatal, about 100 kilometers (62
miles) north of Frankfurt, VW spokesman Heiko Hillwig said.

The 22-year-old was part of a team that was setting up the stationary
robot when it grabbed and crushed him against a metal plate, Hillwig
said.

"I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that..."

--
Ed Huntress

It can't be reasoned with, it can't be bargained with. It doesn't feel
pity
or remorse or fear and it absolutely will not stop. Ever. Until you are
dead.



Best Regards.

Tom.

Right. I've been visiting plants with robots since the late '70s. The
damned things still give me the creeps.

It takes a little time to get acclimated to thier presence.


Have you seen the new generation of "collaborative" robots? They're
gentle. They won't smash you against a steel plate, like the one at
VW. And, since they're computerized, nothing can ever go wrong...go
wrong...go wrong....

Remember the x-ray machines that had a software glitch? They
could make a glass of water scintillate a nice blue.


Here's an article on them by Kip Hanson, who is one of the better
writers in the field:

http://www.ctemag.com/aa_pages/2015/150108-Robots.html

There are many more technical articles about them around the Web.

--
Ed Huntress

Cobots look like bad news for the unskilled labor market. I bet
in 20 years or less robots will kill offshore low cost labor markets.

Best Regards
Tom.

On 2015-07-02, Howard Beal wrote:

"Ed Huntress" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 2 Jul 2015 13:58:15 -0700 (PDT), rangerssuck
wrote:

Robot Kills Man at Volkswagen Plant in Germany
Thu, 07/02/2015 - 9:26am
The Associated Press
Get today's design engineering headlines and news - Sign up now!

A robot has killed a contractor at one of Volkswagen's production plants
in Germany, the automaker said Wednesday.

The man died Monday at the plant in Baunatal, about 100 kilometers (62
miles) north of Frankfurt, VW spokesman Heiko Hillwig said.

The 22-year-old was part of a team that was setting up the stationary
robot when it grabbed and crushed him against a metal plate, Hillwig said.

"I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that..."


It can't be reasoned with, it can't be bargained with. It doesn't feel pity
or remorse or fear and it absolutely will not stop. Ever. Until you are
dead.

That so called robot likely had no brain whatsoever, just a computer
blindly following a program. No higher intelligence programmed.

i

"Ignoramus13356" wrote in message
...

That so called robot likely had no brain whatsoever, just a computer
blindly following a program. No higher intelligence programmed.

i

One would think there are some saftey sensors to shut down the
machine if humans come to close.

Best Regards
Tom.

"Ignoramus13356" wrote in
message ...
On 2015-07-02, Howard Beal wrote:

"Ed Huntress" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 2 Jul 2015 13:58:15 -0700 (PDT), rangerssuck
wrote:

Robot Kills Man at Volkswagen Plant in Germany
Thu, 07/02/2015 - 9:26am
The Associated Press
Get today's design engineering headlines and news - Sign up now!

A robot has killed a contractor at one of Volkswagen's production
plants
in Germany, the automaker said Wednesday.

The man died Monday at the plant in Baunatal, about 100 kilometers
(62
miles) north of Frankfurt, VW spokesman Heiko Hillwig said.

The 22-year-old was part of a team that was setting up the
stationary
robot when it grabbed and crushed him against a metal plate,
Hillwig said.

"I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that..."


It can't be reasoned with, it can't be bargained with. It doesn't
feel pity
or remorse or fear and it absolutely will not stop. Ever. Until
you are
dead.

That so called robot likely had no brain whatsoever, just a computer
blindly following a program. No higher intelligence programmed.

i
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0088247/quotes
A little past half way down.

On 7/3/2015 9:38 AM, Ed Huntress wrote:

Right. I've been visiting plants with robots since the late '70s. The
damned things still give me the creeps.

We have three robots at work. One on the slaughter floor has a brisket
saw. Moves pretty fast, but over a very small range from the sterilizer
to ready position, to cutting.

The other two creep me the heck out. In the boning room, the first one
grabs a lamb carcass off the line with a huge multi-finger gripper.
The second has an approx 4'dia rotary blade that saws the carcass into
sections for further processing. Have had to go into the cage a couple
times to work on the conveyor. Even with it locked out and isolated, I
stay low. Real low, below where the gripper robot operates...

Here's a PDF file that describes the setup:
http://www.ampc.com.au/site/assets/media/Innovation-Award/ME-706-AMPC-MLA-Case-12-Scott-V4.pdf


Jon

On 7/3/2015 3:44 PM, Jon Anderson wrote:

The other two creep me the heck out. In the boning room, the first one
grabs a lamb carcass off the line with a huge multi-finger gripper.
The second has an approx 4'dia rotary blade that saws the carcass into
sections for further processing. Have had to go into the cage a couple
times to work on the conveyor. Even with it locked out and isolated, I
stay low. Real low, below where the gripper robot operates...

Heh, shows how much attention I pay to the robots, reading that PDF
file, there's 3 robots in this 2nd setup. Two with grippers the one with
the saw. To cut myself a bit of slack, I don't have much to do with the
boning room and the way I enter and exit, the 2nd robot is not exactly
front and center in my field of vision.

They are impressive to watch, and pretty much state of the art.


Jon

On Fri, 03 Jul 2015 15:44:57 +1000, Jon Anderson
wrote:

On 7/3/2015 9:38 AM, Ed Huntress wrote:

Right. I've been visiting plants with robots since the late '70s. The
damned things still give me the creeps.

We have three robots at work. One on the slaughter floor has a brisket
saw. Moves pretty fast, but over a very small range from the sterilizer
to ready position, to cutting.

The other two creep me the heck out. In the boning room, the first one
grabs a lamb carcass off the line with a huge multi-finger gripper.
The second has an approx 4'dia rotary blade that saws the carcass into
sections for further processing. Have had to go into the cage a couple
times to work on the conveyor. Even with it locked out and isolated, I
stay low. Real low, below where the gripper robot operates...

Here's a PDF file that describes the setup:
http://www.ampc.com.au/site/assets/media/Innovation-Award/ME-706-AMPC-MLA-Case-12-Scott-V4.pdf

"Speeds exceeding 450 carcasses/hr were achieved for two cuts and 360
carcasses/hr for four cuts. Yield gains were achieved due to increase
in cut accuracy and reduction in bone dust when compared to bandsaw
use."

That would be creepy. Don't make them angry.

By the way, I got Larry Cherne at Praxair to write an article about
their new ProStar stainless weld treatment. It will appear in a few
weeks, in our July issue. It's running a little late because of the
holiday. Larry mentioned he had an inquiry from Australia; probably
your distributor.

Check this site in a few weeks:

http://www.fsmdirect.com/

--
Ed Huntress

On Thu, 02 Jul 2015 21:09:53 -0500, Ignoramus13356
wrote:



That so called robot likely had no brain whatsoever, just a computer
blindly following a program. No higher intelligence programmed.

i

Not by design. Wait till they're hacked by intelligent rogue programs
running on distributed computer systems.


--
Best regards,
Spehro Pefhany
Amazon link for AoE 3rd Edition: http://tinyurl.com/ntrpwu8
Microchip link for 2015 Masters in Phoenix: http://tinyurl.com/l7g2k48

rangerssuck prodded the keyboard with:

Robot Kills Man at Volkswagen Plant in Germany
Thu, 07/02/2015 - 9:26am
The Associated Press
Get today's design engineering headlines and news - Sign up now!

A robot has killed a contractor at one of Volkswagen's production
plants in Germany, the automaker said Wednesday.

The man died Monday at the plant in Baunatal, about 100 kilometers
(62 miles) north of Frankfurt, VW spokesman Heiko Hillwig said.

The 22-year-old was part of a team that was setting up the
stationary robot when it grabbed and crushed him against a metal
plate, Hillwig said.

He said initial conclusions indicate that human error was to blame,
rather than a problem with the robot, which can be programmed to
perform various tasks in the assembly process. He said it normally
operates within a confined area at the plant, grabbing auto parts
and manipulating them.

Another contractor was present when the incident occurred, but
wasn't harmed, Hillwig said. He declined to give any more details
about the case, citing an ongoing investigation.

German news agency dpa reported that prosecutors were considering
whether to bring charges, and if so, against whom.

Its a machine ! All machines can be dangerous, even more so if they
are programable...

--
Best Regards:
Baron.

"Spehro Pefhany" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 02 Jul 2015 21:09:53 -0500, Ignoramus13356
wrote:



That so called robot likely had no brain whatsoever, just a computer
blindly following a program. No higher intelligence programmed.

i

Not by design. Wait till they're hacked by intelligent rogue
programs
running on distributed computer systems.

Spehro Pefhany

Wait???
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuxnet
"Stuxnet reportedly ruined almost one-fifth of Iran's nuclear
centrifuges."

On Fri, 03 Jul 2015 11:31:09 -0400, Spehro Pefhany
wrote:

On Thu, 02 Jul 2015 21:09:53 -0500, Ignoramus13356
wrote:



That so called robot likely had no brain whatsoever, just a computer
blindly following a program. No higher intelligence programmed.

i

Not by design. Wait till they're hacked by intelligent rogue programs
running on distributed computer systems.

Like Jade Helm 2?
shudder


--
Another belief of mine: that everyone else my age is an adult,
whereas I am merely in disguise.
-- Margaret Atwood

On 7/3/2015 10:05 PM, Ed Huntress wrote:

By the way, I got Larry Cherne at Praxair to write an article about
their new ProStar stainless weld treatment. It will appear in a few
weeks, in our July issue. It's running a little late because of the
holiday. Larry mentioned he had an inquiry from Australia; probably
your distributor.

Check this site in a few weeks:

http://www.fsmdirect.com/

Will check that out. The rep works for Southern Cross Industrial Supply.
Would be curious to know if that's where the inquiry came from.


Jon

On Sat, 04 Jul 2015 15:57:54 +1000, Jon Anderson
wrote:

On 7/3/2015 10:05 PM, Ed Huntress wrote:

By the way, I got Larry Cherne at Praxair to write an article about
their new ProStar stainless weld treatment. It will appear in a few
weeks, in our July issue. It's running a little late because of the
holiday. Larry mentioned he had an inquiry from Australia; probably
your distributor.

Check this site in a few weeks:

http://www.fsmdirect.com/

Will check that out. The rep works for Southern Cross Industrial Supply.
Would be curious to know if that's where the inquiry came from.


Jon

I asked Larry in an email. I'll let you know.

--
Ed Huntress