Another dancing humanoid robot struck a child during a demonstration in China. This time, adding to the nightmare fuel, the robot was wearing a blue clown wig. Seriously. Imagine the night terrors this kid is going to have.
Yonhap News reported on Friday that the amusement park in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of China was hosting a martial arts demonstration featuring a humanoid robot when the incident occurred. During the demonstration, the robot hit a kindergarten boy in the stomach, according to The Asia Business Daily.
In a video of the incident, the boy moved in close to the wig-wearing robot during the performance, and the robot’s foot struck him in the abdomen as it performed a spinning roundhouse kick. The child quickly crouched down and clutched his stomach in discomfort as a result of the impact. According to one report, the boy’s mother expressed dissatisfaction with the event management staff’s slow response to the situation.
Local media outlets reported that the robot in question was a 70-pound G1 from Chinese robotics company Unitree. The Asia Business Daily reported that the kicking force of the G1 is about 100 newtons, or about 22.48 pounds of force. Experts noted that children may experience excruciating pain from this degree of power, and in certain situations, internal organ damage may result. Fortunately, the child reportedly did not suffer serious injuries.
However, the incident has rekindled discussions about how sophisticated humanoid robots are used in crowded public areas, especially when they are showcased at locations such as an amusement park.
This isn’t the first time a dancing humanoid robot struck a child during a demonstration
In another video from China taken on March 21, a dancing humanoid robot (sans clown wig) slapped a child in the face during a botched dance performance. The dancing humanoid robot in that video kicked and spun around in a cordoned-off area while onlookers watched. Then the machine started spinning with its arms extended toward the crowd. It then struck a youngster in the face.
Then, much like a robot meant to entertain customers at a hot pot restaurant that began smashing dishes, the machine continued to perform its routine even as handlers attempted to drag it away. It is incidents such as these that suggest some of these humanoid robots’ off switches are not easy to find and/or manipulate.