Man injured after robot smashes booth at Shenzhen technology fair

Man wounded by broken glass after robot smashes window at Shenzhen technology fair. SCREENGRABS: HUANQIU.COM

SHENZHEN (CHINA DAILY/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - A man was hurt after an educational robot smashed a window at a technology fair and he was cut by the glass.

While some called it an "attack" on the visitor at the China Hi-tech Fair (CHTF) 2016 on Thursday (Nov 17), the accident was caused by misoperation of the robot by a staff member, the organising committee of CHTF said on Friday.

The visitor was reportedly injured after a robot named "Xiaopang" (meaning "Fatty") ran into a window, smashing it into pieces.

The visitor's leg was wounded by broken glass and he was taken to Peking University Shenzhen Hospital in an ambulance. He later went home after receiving a few stitches.

The accident took place at about 2pm when the exhibitor, Spreadview Century, a Shenzhen high-tech enterprise, was demonstrating the robot to visitors.

In a statement, the fair's organising committee said the employee mistakenly hit the "forward" button, instead of the "reverse" one, leading to the accident.

An exhibitor surnamed Zhang whose booth is located near the accident site told China Daily that he heard a loud noise when the accident happened and saw many people gathering at the site.

The robot had been withdrawn from the site by Friday afternoon.

The robot, produced by Beijing robot company Evolver, was developed for children aged between four and 12 years old for educational use, according to media reports.

It made its debut in November 2015 at the World Robot Conference.

CHTF, known as China's biggest and most influential technology show, is an annual event during which enterprises and organisations from all over the world share and trade their latest technologies and products.

This year's fair, held in Shenzhen from Nov 16 to 21, attracted more than 3,000 exhibitors from 37 countries and regions across the world.

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