Tech tango: Slow robot deployment, not accidents, worries Indian industry

Robotics experts insist accidents such as these are usually a result of human error. Working with robots, they say, demands strict adherence to safety protocols

“You can kill me, but cannot defeat me,” says a robot named Kunjappan in the 2019 Malayalam movie, Android Kunjappan Version 5.25. The message is unambiguous: Robots are here to stay. Whether it was this film or earlier movies in the genre, such as the Terminator series, Ex Machina or Enthiran (Robot, starring Rajinikanth), in popular culture, robots tend to be seen as entities determined to eliminate humans.

In real life, though, they are mere tools deployed to maximise or optimise output for human benefit — except for the rare occasion when they turn on humans, not by design but by