engineering

Robert Williams (robot fatality)

Robert Williams (robot fatality) is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Robert Williams (robot fatality) rather than just read about it. In short: Robert Nicholas Williams (May 2, 1953 – January 25, 1979) was an American factory worker who was the first known human to be killed by a robot. While working at the Ford Motor Company's Michigan Casting Center, Williams was struck and killed by the arm of a robotic transfer vehicle.

Key takeaways

Robert Williams (robot fatality) belongs to engineering; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Robert Williams (robot fatality) to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Robert Williams (robot fatality) from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Robert Nicholas Williams (May 2, 1953 – January 25, 1979) was an American factory worker who was the first known human to be killed by a robot. While working at the Ford Motor Company's Michigan Casting Center, Williams was struck and killed by the arm of a robotic transfer vehicle.

Death and litigation

Williams was one of three operators of the parts retrieval system, a five-story robotic system built by the Unit Handling Systems division of Litton Industries. The robot was designed to retrieve castings from high density storage shelves at the Flat Rock plant. Part of the machine included one-ton transfer vehicles, which were carts on rubber wheels equipped with mechanical arms to move castings to and from the shelves. When the robot gave erroneous inventory readings, Williams was asked to climb into the racks to retrieve parts manually. Another news account states the robot was not retrieving parts quickly enough. He climbed into the third level of the storage rack, where he was struck from behind and crushed by one of the one-ton transfer vehicles, killing him instantly. His body remained in the shelf for 30 minutes until it was discovered by workers who were concerned about his disappearance. His family sued the manufacturers of the robot, Litton Industries, alleging "that Litton was negligent in designing, manufacturing and supplying the storage system and in failing to warn [system operators] of foreseeable dangers in working within the storage area." In a 1983 jury decision, the court awarded his estate $10 million — the largest personal injury in Michigan at the time — and concluded that there simply were not enough safety measures in place to prevent such an accident from happening. The award was raised to $15 million in January 1984. Litton settled with the estate of Williams for an undisclosed amount in exchange for Litton not admitting negligence. Litton had sought indemnification and recovery of judgment costs from Ford because Ford had not sent Williams to Litton-provided training and allowed Williams to enter the rack without engaging the lockout–tagout system, which shuts down the machine. Since Litton had already settled with the estate of Williams, the Michigan Court of Appeals denied the action, and that decision was later upheld by the Supreme Court of Michigan.

See also Kenji Urada (1943/1944–1981), a Japanese man killed by a robot in 1981 List of unusual deaths in the 20th century Robotic tech vest

References

External links Kiska, Tim (August 11, 1983). "Robot firm liable in death". The Oregonian. Kiska, Tim (August 11, 1983). "Death on the job: Jury awards $10 million to heirs of man killed by robot at auto plant". Philadelphia Inquirer. "Death-by-robot yields award of $15 million". Philadelphia Inquirer. January 14, 1984. Bizony, Piers (July 2015). "Focus: #1 The First Law: A robot may not injure a human being, or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm". Engineering & Technology. 10 (6). IEEE: 52–53. doi:10.1049/et.2015.0621. ISSN 1750-9637.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Robert Williams (robot fatality)

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Robert Williams (robot fatality) claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Robert Williams (robot fatality) before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Robert Williams (robot fatality) ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Robert Williams (robot fatality)

In research: Robert Williams (robot fatality) appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Robert Williams (robot fatality) in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Robert Williams (robot fatality) is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1953 births, 1979 deaths, Accidental deaths in Michigan, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Robert Williams (robot fatality) outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Robert Williams (robot fatality) in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Robert Williams (robot fatality) means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Robert Williams (robot fatality) out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Robert Williams (robot fatality) in simple terms?

Why does Robert Williams (robot fatality) matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Robert Williams (robot fatality)?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Robert Williams (robot fatality).