Chess robot breaks seven-year-old’s finger during tournament in Russia

Photo by Gao Yuwen/VCG via Getty Images

According to reports from local news outlets, a chess robot broke the finger of a seven-year-old boy in Russia.

At the Moscow Chess Open, a robot was hired to play against other players. A standard industrial robot arm is being used to move chess pieces on three chessboards.

The child had a broken finger. The President of the Moscow Chess Federation said this was bad.

The robot has been exhibited for a long time with specialists. The operators didn't pay attention to it. After the child made a move, we need to give time for the robot to answer, but the boy rushed and the robot grabbed him. We don't have anything to do with it.

It's not clear what explanation the robot's creators have given for the accident, but it's not unusual for robot engineers to fail to consider safety protocol around humans.

Most industrial environments have unseeing machines. They don't have enough sensors to recognize or respond to nearby humans. They won't know you're there if you move into their path

Many robot deaths have been caused by this type of blind collision. Robert Williams was killed in 1979 when he was crushed by a robot arm. According to the US Department of Labor, there are roughly one fatality a year, though the statistics vary based on different companies definition of a robot. The conveyer belt is a robot. Is that a machine for mold making?

The chess robot was designed to identify and move chess pieces, not respond to the appearance of a human.

The child violated some safety rules. Sergey Smagin, vice-president of the Russian Chess Federation, told a Telegram-based news channel that he did not know he had to wait.

The designers of the robot violated safety rules by making a machine that could hurt humans. There are a number of basic features that could have prevented the accident.

The child was quickly recovered and was able to continue playing. The child finished the tournament in a cast and the volunteers helped to record the moves. The robot operators will have to think about how to protect themselves in the future.