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German 'Scientists' Test Knife-Wielding Robot on Human, High-Five Each Other

by Amar Toor on May 7, 2010 at 05:40 PM

Ever wonder what would happen if you suddenly bought a robotic maid, gave it a bunch of sharp objects, and let it run wild? Sure you have. Well now, the world finally has an answer to this eternally burning question, thanks to a trio of insane German scientists who decided to take the conversation beyond the realm of stoner circles and into the laboratory.

To find out what would happen when a 30-pound robotic arm gets its claws on a steak knife, they took a 30-pound robotic arm... and gave it a steak knife. Then they gave it a kitchen knife, a screwdriver and a pair of scissors. In a classic case of "what happens when scientists get drunk," they then had the novel idea of turning off the bot's safety controls and testing it out on a pig leg, a piece of silicone designed to mimic human tissue, and, just for kicks, an actual human being. Shockingly, the results weren't pretty. As the BBC reports, the robot-inflicted wounds on the pig leg and silicone would've been "lethal," if, y'know, the pig wasn't already dead. As for the arm of the human "volunteer" (read: intern), it was spared a lot of the damage that the poor pig leg had to endure because the researchers decided to activate the bot's "prototype collision detection system," which kept the robo-arm in check, for the most part.

The researchers from the Institute of Robotics and Mechatronics at Germany's aerospace agency apparently conducted their study under the firm belief that one day, we'll all have robots helping out in the household so it's absolutely essential that we scope out any potential hazards now. And judging from what they found, it may be time to reconsider our Jetson-esque domestic future. Or perhaps it's just time for Germany's aerospace program to reconsider its budget. [From: BBC; via: DVICE]

Tags: germany, knife, knife attack, KnifeAttack, robot, robotics, robots, top, weird

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