Promobot robot killed by a self-driving Tesla car at CES 2019

This may be a sad, ironic, and darkly funny foretaste of our future. Our condolences go out to the Promobot team as they have truly lost something valuable and important to them. Here is the Promobot press release:

Jan, 6 2019. A self-driving Tesla Model S hit and destroyed an autonomous Promobot the robot model v4 in Las Vegas in a car accident. The incident took place at 3000 Paradise Rd, Las Vegas.

At 7 pm the Promobot’s engineers transported robots to the Vegas’s Congress Hall to prepare their booth at the CES-2019. All the robots were moving in a line. But one of them missed its way and drove to the roadway of the street parking lot. At that moment it was hit by a self driving Tesla car.

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After the clash the robot was pushed aside and fell. The car continued to move and stopped fifty meters away from the accident. The passenger who was in the car while driving explains that he decided to try a self-driving mode (Full Self-Driving Capability) and chose an idle area for this test.

“There was nobody there, no men, no cars. I switched this Tesla into a self-driving mode and it started to move. And wow! A robot on the track! I thought the flivver would come round, but it bumped straightly into the it! I am so sorry, the robot looks cute. And my sincere apologies to the engineers”, said George Caldera, a Tesla passenger.

As a result, the robot suffered serious damage. Parts of the body, the mechanisms of the arms, the movement platform and a head are destroyed. Now the robot is not able to take part in the exhibition and most likely there is no way to restore it.

The Nevada police came to the accident scene:

This video is a property of Steven Smith, the witness, stevensssmith8@ gmail.com

“Of course we are vexed. We brought this robot here from Philadelphia to participate at CES. Now it neither cannot participate in the event not to be recovered. We will conduct an internal investigation and find out why the robot went to the roadway”, said Oleg Kivokurtsev, Promobot’s Development Director.

About Promobot

Promobot is a manufacturer of autonomous service robots for business with development centers in Europe and Asia. Several hundred of Promobot robots operate in 26 countries around the world. They work as consultants, concierges, guides, administrators. They are able to be customized for the tasks of a particular business and improve the financial performance of companies, the quality of service and customer loyalty.

Promobot robots will be presented at CES 2019. At the exhibition you will meet the robots-consultants, concierges and even a robot that recognizes emotions. In addition, every hour robots will give a dance performance at the booth.