Robot 'drowns' in fountain mishap.

From BBC News

18 July 2017

A security robot in Washington DC suffered a watery demise after falling into a fountain by an office building. The stricken robot, made by Knightscope, was spotted by passers-by whose photos of the aftermath quickly went viral on social media. For some, the incident seemed to sum up the state of 21st Century technology. "We were promised flying cars, instead we got suicidal robots," wrote one worker from the building on Twitter. "Steps are our best defence against the Robopocalypse," commented Peter Singer - author of Wired for War, a book about military robotics.

It is not the first accident involving Knightscope's patrolling robots, which are equipped with various instruments - including face-recognition systems, high-definition video capture, infrared and ultrasonic sensors. Last year, a 16-month-old toddler was run over by one of the autonomous devices in a Silicon Valley shopping centre. And earlier this year, a Californian man was arrested after attacking a Knightscope robot. The man, who was drunk at the time of the incident, later said he wanted to "test" the machine, according to Knightscope.

[LOVED the Peter Singer quote. At least for now, just like the Daleks, we are safe from killer robots as long as they can’t climb steps (or can’t stop themselves falling down them). Presumably we’d also be safe behind a closed, never mind locked, door or anywhere where the robot has to cross more than a 3 inch gap. Of course all of these obstacles will be navigated in time. But for now at least we’re safe! But you know what? I still feel sorry for the little robotic guy.......]