Dinner and a robot performance is one thing. But dinner with a robot flinging food across your table? That’s a “I didn’t sign up for this” kind of experience, and that’s exactly what went down at a Haidilao hotpot restaurant in San Jose, where a humanoid robot suddenly lost it in the middle of a dance routine, slamming its hands down, sending food flying, and refusing to stop.
The moment things went left
The robot was doing its thing – dancing, waving its arms, putting on a show. Then it just snapped out of sync.
It slammed its hands onto a table, hard enough to knock chopsticks and sauce into the air. From there, it just kept going. Almost like nothing happened.
Employees rushed in and tried to grab it, but the robot kept moving, arms swinging, legs stepping, still “performing.”
One staff member is seen holding a handle at the back of its neck while checking her phone, likely trying to figure out how to stop it. Meanwhile, others are ducking its arms mid-swing.
It took three employees to pull it off the floor.
The internet had a field day
The video spread fast, and the internet reactions were chaotic and funny, with comments like “Robot said I quit” and “Most human thing a robot has ever done. Hated the job, made a scene, no regrets.”
One user joked that this was the start of a robot takeover.
It’s funny until you think about it for a second. Because the same clip also triggered a more practical question: Why did it take that long to shut the robot down? Why wasn’t there a clear emergency stop?
It’s not the only out-of-control robot incident this week
This isn’t even the only “robot acting weird” story right now. Around the same time, another humanoid robot startled an elderly woman in China.
As seen in a viral clip, the robot repeatedly raised its arms in the air as the woman yelled and waved her bag at it. Police ended up escorting it away and returning it to its operator with a warning to be more careful.
The not-so-small problem
A robot malfunctioning is not new. If this had happened in a controlled lab, no big deal – It happens all the time. But a robot malfunctioning in a crowded restaurant with no immediate shutdown response is not so reassuring.
With more and more robots being put out there, the margin for error is fast disappearing. And moments like this call for solid control systems.
Source: Daily Mail