Security robot knocks over toddler in shopping centre

Our pick of the strange stories from around the world.

Security robot knocks over toddler

A robot security guard at the Stanford Shopping Centre in Silicon Valley has reportedly broken Asimov's first law of robotics, knocking over a young boy and running over his foot. Sixteen-month-old Harwin Cheng was left with minor swelling after the collision. The Knightscope K5 robot, a five-feet tall, 300lb machine, patrols the shopping mall, using cameras and other sensors to report any unusual activity to a central guard station. Its creators are investigating how the machine failed to realise it had run over the toddler.

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Bear trashes camper's car

A teenage camper in Colorado woke to find a black bear locked in her car. Officials say the bear was probably looking for food and somehow managed to enter the vehicle before inadvertently locking itself in. Car owner Annie Bruecker told reporters the animal had completely destroyed the interior. "My whole ceiling was ripped, the plastic from my sunroof cover was ripped out. My steering wheel was chewed, as was every other piece of my car," she said. Wildlife officers managed to remove the bear without incident, but the car had to be towed away and is likely to be written off.

Mashed potatoes spark prison riot

Inmates at a jail in El Dorado, Kansas, rioted over the quality of the mashed potatoes they had been served for lunch, say prison officials. Up to 50 prisoners overturned tables, set off fire extinguishers, tore security cameras off the walls and refused to return to their cells because of the poor quality meal.