A woman was briefly hospitalized in Macau after being frightened by a humanoid robot while she was walking, police told AFP on Wednesday.
According to police, this person “was startled when she suddenly noticed a robot behind her while she was using her cell phone” in early March.
A video widely shared on social media shows a woman angry at a robot, waving its metal arms in its direction.
“With everything else to do, why bother? Are you crazy?”, the woman shouts in Cantonese at the imperturbable machine.
She was not injured and had no physical contact with the robot, but was taken to hospital, police said in a statement.
“She has since left the hospital and has not filed a complaint,” the statement said.
The humanoid robot, similar to the model produced by the Chinese start-up Unitree, was piloted by a Macanese man in his fifties. He explained that he was carrying out a test and intended to use it to promote his business.
Videos shared on social media show officers escorting the robot, but police say they have not seized the machine.
Beijing encourages the country’s companies to develop humanoid machines, in a race for innovation.
These robots, increasingly sophisticated, are now capable of performing choreographies or participating in races. But fully autonomous machines remain rare, most of the most impressive demonstrations remain pre-programmed or remotely controlled.
