First humanoid robot arrested for scaring elderly woman in China

A humanoid robot has been arrested by the police after scaring a 70-yearold woman in Macau, China. The police told a local media that the woman was later hospitalised for medical examination after the incident, which occurred in Patane in a residential complex, when the elderly woman was walking down the street at 9pm. 

While looking at her phone during the walk, she ran into the robot, a Unitree G1 model, which was following her. Appearing frightened and startled upon discovering the robot standing beside her, the woman yelled at the robot: “You’re making my heart race!” She further queried the humanoid, according to the Macau Post: “You’ve got plenty to do; so what’s the point of messing around with this? Are you freaking crazy?” 

In a viral clip showing the altercation, the robot is seen being escorted by police personnel after the incident. One of the officers placed his hand on the robot’s shoulders, humanising the experience. Reports suggest the robot was owned by an education centre in Macau and used for “promotional activities” in the area.

Later, the robot was returned to its 50-year-old owner, who was advised to exercise caution when using it in public spaces. A representative from the education centre, Towin Mak, told local broadcaster, Teledifusão de Macau (TDM), that the incident occurred as the robot was leaving the area. 

The robot halted in his path behind the woman as the latter stopped to check her phone. “Because he couldn’t get around her, he was waiting behind,” Mak said. The lady experienced serious distress in the aftermath of the incident. When the police reached the scene, she informed them that she was feeling unwell and was taken to a hospital. 

After the medical checkup and treatment, the woman revealed she wouldn’t be filing any complaint. The police confirmed there was physical contact between the robot and the lady. After the clip surfaced on social media, it garnered mixed reactions, with many Chinese dismissing it as an unserious issue while others joked that the robot had been “arrested” by the cops. 

Others, however, expressed concern about the use of robots in public, sparking a debate over their ethics and safety