Study Confirms Robots Are Totally Stab-Happy

Surprisingly accurate.

Three German researchers ran a study to see what would happen if a robot played with knives around humans (creepy, gross, audio-less video after the cut).  Shockingly, they found out giving robots knives could result in lethal injuries to humans.  Noooooo.  Surely not.

The tests involved a robot arm weighing 14kg and a 1.1m reach that was equipped with a variety of bladed household tools including a steak knife, kitchen knife, scissors and screwdriver.  The robot arm was programmed to use the bladed tools to stab and cut a silicone lump, a leg from a dead pig and the arm of a human volunteer. [BBC via Arbroath]

They didn’t involve the human volunteer until after turning on the collision detection system they designed.  It uses torque sensors to alert the robot to stop when it hits a different substance.  Meaning you get a tiny puncture wound instead of a new giant hole for the robots to store all their Styx cassettes in.  (Robots love “Mr. Roboto”.)

Ah, robot, I see you’ve played knifey spoony before.