Did a robot just commit suicide?

A city council in South Korea said last their first administrative officer robot was defunct after throwing itself down some stairs, with local media mourning the country's first robot suicide.

South Korea's Gumi City Council announced the robot was found unresponsive after having apparently fallen down a two-meter (six-and-a-half foot) staircase last week.

Witnesses saw the robot officer "circling in one spot as if something was there" before the accident occurred, but the exact cause of the fall is still being investigated.

A city council official said:

"Pieces have been collected and will be analysed by the company," the official said, adding that the robot had "helped with daily document deliveries, city promotion, and delivered information" to local residents.

Unlike other robots, which can typically only use one floor, the Gumi City Council robot could call an elevator and move floors on its own.

- CyberBeat