Robots · July 1981Gaffe level: Skynet
Japan's First Robot Fatality
Maintenance engineer Kenji Urada hopped a safety fence at a Kawasaki plant in Akashi without fully powering down the robot he was fixing; it read him as an obstruction, pinned him against a machine with its hydraulic arm, and killed him. The incident became Japan's first recorded robot fatality.
Source: The Hustle
A Belfast Surgical Robot Has Treated 130 Complex Cases Since May
Belfast City Hospital's Da Vinci 5 robotic platform for gynaecology has treated 130 patients needing complex surgery since its launch in May 2026, and the longest inpatient wait in Belfast Trust has fallen from seven years to three. A new 1.95 million pound investment in endometriosis services will expand the specialist centres and local care behind that progress.