The robot flails wildly as human workers run away in fear. This isn’t a new sci-fi movie: it’s a real video from a factory producing robots.

The video shows a robot suspended from a crane as human workers mill around it. Suddenly, it starts flailing its arms uncontrollably. Any contact with these powerful limbs could severely injure or even kill a human.

There are conflicting reports on which company made the android. Early reports said the robot was produced by Clone Robotics. But later reports say it’s from Unitree, a Chinese robotics company.

The robot doesn’t really look like one of the Clone Robotics models, which mimic human muscle and bone. It looks more like plain metal, suggesting a Unitree.

Fortunately, the workers got away in time. But as androids become more common, we’re going to be dealing with this scenario more and more.

These robots need highly reliable motion sensors. If a human, or any obstacle, is nearby, they need to stop. What’s more, humans need a way to quickly and easily disable them.

Some people will jump to the conclusion that the robot is sentient and wants to hurt the workers. I doubt it.

It’s probably just a mechanical problem that caused the arms to move unexpectedly. But in the end, the result is the same: someone could’ve been hurt or even killed.

So far, the American robotics companies seem to be far ahead of the Chinese. We haven’t seen any scary incidents like this from the Figure androids, for example.

Getting humans to accept these bots is going to be really hard. If they go nuts and attack people, it will be impossible.

That would be a shame, because we have a lot to gain!

Robots could do our housework and handle dirty and dangerous industrial jobs. But to get those benefits, we have to show the public they’re not a threat.

Just like with self-driving cars, the key here is safety. People will not accept a new technology if they think it’s unsafe.

We’re better off moving slowly and nailing the safety. Because if one of these robots kills a human, you won’t see androids for a very long time.

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