VW robot kills worker

In a tragic accident in Germany, a Volkswagen worker was killed after a production line robot seemingly turned on him and killed the unfortunate man. The accident occurred in a VW plant in Kassel, when an unidentified 22-year-old worker was actually installing the robot on the production line. According to reports, the manic machine punched the unfortunate worker in the chest and then pinned him against a metal slab in the safety cage where the grumpy machine was being installed.

VW spokesperson, Heiko Hillwing, was quick to announce that the incident was most probably caused by human error and not because of faulty programming, or a malevolent streak within the robot itself; at this time, though, the incident is still under investigation.

Automakers use many such production line robots in a typical assembly line to perform a multitude of laborious and dangerous tasks, from welding to spray painting, and to our knowledge this is the first time that such an incident has occurred; but perhaps it was foretold when Isaac Asimov wrote the Three Laws:

1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm
2. A robot must obey the orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law
3. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws

Is this a case of life mimicking art?