Unlike conventional machinery, robots lack the intelligence of a human operator. In the event of a programming error or hardware malfunction robots have the potential to unexpectedly move large distances at a high rate of speed, posing a serious danger to operators or maintenance personnel.

Accident statistics maintained by OSHA identify 27 fatalities associated with robots in a 30-year period from 1984 to 2013. This doesn’t mean safety in industrial automation should be taken lightly; like any machine, robots can be dangerous when they are deployed improperly or used carelessly.