Sunday, January 13, 2019

Autonomous Robot Hit And ‘Killed’ By Self-Driving Tesla

From the Daily Mail, Jan 6-7:

Oops! Autonomous robot struck and 'killed' by a self-driving Tesla in Las Vegas ahead of CES
  • Accident occurred on Paradise Rd in Las Vegas as engineers transported bots
  • One of the Promobots stepped out of line and into the roadway, where it was hit
  • Tesla Model S was operating autonomously, though a passenger was on board
Tesla has found itself involved in yet another self-driving car accident – and this time, its victim was a $2,000-per-day rentable humanoid robot.

In what many are speculating was an over-the-top PR stunt, Promobot revealed one of its model v4 robots was ‘killed’ by a Tesla Model S on a Las Vegas street ahead of CES.
The accident occurred on Paradise Rd Sunday night as engineers transported the firm’s robots to the display booth.
In what many are speculating was an over-the-top PR stunt, Promobot revealed one of its model v4 robots was ¿killed¿ by a Tesla Model S on a Las Vegas street ahead of CES
According to Promobot, a number of robots were making their way to the booth around 7 p.m. when one of them stepped out of line and into the parking lot roadway.
As it did, it was struck by a Tesla Model S operating in autonomous mode.

The crash tipped the robot onto its side, causing ‘serious damage,’ Promobot says.

Now, with parts of its body, head, arm mechanisms, and movement platform destroyed, it cannot be put on display.

The firm says the damage is likely irreparable....MORE
Sounds similar to "So It Begins: Russian Robot Escapes Laboratory" which, was a publicity stunt by a company at http://en.promo-bot.ru.

And look! The Russian site redirects to https://promo-bot.ai/