The autonomous patrol robot "Goyang Polybot" collides with a folding table holding flower pots at Hwajung Station Plaza in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, on Monday. [SNS/Yonhap]
The autonomous patrol robot "Goyang Polybot" collides with a folding table holding flower pots at Hwajung Station Plaza in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, on Monday. [SNS/Yonhap]

An autonomous patrol robot on duty near Hwajung Station in Goyang, Gyeonggi Province, rammed into a table set up in a public plaza, smashing about 20 flower pots.

Police said the incident occurred Monday afternoon at Hwajung Station Plaza in Deogyang-gu, Goyang, when the AI autonomous patrol robot known as the Goyang Polybot struck a folding table with flower pots on top.

The robot apparently failed to detect the lower frame of the folding table as an obstacle, sending roughly 20 pots tumbling to the ground and shattering them.

The table and flower pots had been set up in the plaza as part of a Goyang city campaign to promote locally grown flowers and agricultural products.

Photos of the scene spread across social media and online communities, drawing wide attention.

One user who posted the images joked that the robot had been "conducting an undercover patrol" at Hwajung Station Plaza before "hitting a flower pot and fleeing the scene." The user added that the robot was now "locked in solitary confinement" — a tongue-in-cheek reference to the robot being stored in its docking unit next to a police safety booth after the incident.

Other users piled on with comments such as "Did the police just get into a traffic accident with a flower pot?" and "Did it drink too much electricity and get drunk?"

Police said they will cover the cost of the damaged pots and other losses through insurance.

The Goyang Polybot is an AI-powered autonomous patrol robot the Goyang Police Station introduced earlier this year to bolster security in areas not covered by CCTV cameras.

The robot uses autonomous driving technology to patrol designated zones, and footage it captures is transmitted to the Goyang Police Station's 112 emergency operations center.


bbo@heraldcorp.com