Into a technology store Russia has released footage of a moment it says one of its robot assistants lashed out at a customer after pushing him.
The video, shot at Volga Electronics in Saratov, shows the robot walking towards a man as he enters the store.
The man extends his arm for a handshake, but when the robot ignores him, the customer jokingly pushes the machine away.
Just seconds later, the robot responds by unleashing a violent series of kicks and punches aimed at the customer.
Two staff members intervene and try to stop the robot as it continues to aim at the customer.
It is unclear why the store would choose to release the footage if the attack on a customer was genuine and not a publicity stunt.
The video has gone viral on social media, with many viewers pointing out the dangers of robots.
‘The machines are getting ready to take over. We were warned,” one X user commented.
Video shows a customer approaching a robot at the Volga Electronics technology store in Saratov, Russia, and extending his arm for a handshake
After the customer pushes the robot, the machine appears to prepare for a fight
The robot is seen unleashing a violent series of punches and kicks aimed at the customer
Another said: ‘We will see more examples of this until we stop the reckless AI model developments.’
This isn’t the first video of a robot performing martial arts moves.
It comes just weeks after a humanoid robot wearing a clown wig kicked a child in the stomach during a martial arts show in China.
The robot wearing an Afro wig gave a unique martial arts demonstration to a crowd of spectators at the Urumqi Botanical Garden in Xinjiang, China.
While the audience filmed the performance, the robot shifted into a fighting stance and performed a spinning roundhouse kick.
The unexpected move struck a young boy directly in the stomach, causing him to double over in pain before falling backwards into the crowd.
The robot stumbled backwards after the kick before appearing to steady itself, recover and continue the feat.
The video went viral online and the images sparked new discussions about the AI-powered robots.
One commenter wrote on
Store staff rush to intervene while the robot continues to focus on the customer
The fragment has now gone viral on social media
Another added: ‘Why are people so determined to destroy themselves? Who needs these?’
In another case earlier this year, dozens of bots took to the stage at the CCTV Spring Festival gala, China’s most-watched TV show.
The robots wore vests and performed kicks, somersaults and even moves with nunchucks, swords and sticks.
Amazingly, their daring performance took place just meters away from human child performers.
