A humanoid robot was seen attacking its handler while trying to break free from restraints in a scene viewers have branded ‘dystopian’.
In CCTV footage from a factory in China, the black robot could be seen attached to a miniature crane before it suddenly began swinging its arms back and forth.
As it flew into a rage and lashed out, a man sitting behind a nearby computer began ducking while another man standing behind the robot backed away.
The robot – seemingly of its own accord – raised its arms in the air and brought them down again, repeating the motion with increasing speed and violence.
It then began walking forward as it thrashed around in an apparent bid to break free from the crane.
The men could both be seen flinching and cowering while raising their arms to shield their face as they moved out of its path.
The computer monitor toppled tp the floor and other items were knocked over from the desk as the men attempted to flee from the out-of-control robot.
Eventually, one of the men pulled the crane from behind in a bid to stop the spree of destruction.
In CCTV footage from a factory in China , the black robot could be seen attached to a miniature crane beside two people
As it flew into a rage and lashed out, a man sitting behind a nearby computer began ducking while another man standing behind the robot backed away
The robot – seemingly of its own accord – raised its arms in the air and brought them down again, repeating the motion with increasing speed and violence
Eventually, one of the men pulled the crane from behind in a bid to stop the spree of destruction
The incident took place on May 1 and caused a stir online with viewers commenting on the chilling nature of the event.
One viewer wrote: ‘So it begins.’
Another said: ‘Can’t wait for the robot v. human war.’
A third joked: ‘Well, nice to know that the robot apocalypse can be stopped with a small crane hoist at least.’
And a fifth replied: ‘For now.’
It comes after the world’s most advanced humanoid robot gave a chilling response when asked if it is going to take our jobs.
At Mobile World Congress (MWC) in Barcelona last month, MailOnline spoke with Ameca the bot, made by British firm Engineered Arts.
MailOnline asked the sophisticated machine: ‘Will robots take all our jobs?’
Somewhat concerningly, the bot replies: ‘I don’t know, how good are you at your job?’
She continued: ‘It depends how good you are at it I suppose.’
MailOnline also asked: ‘Are robots going to take over the world?’
Ameca replied: ‘That’s an interesting question, but not interesting for me to answer.’
And in November, a small, AI-powered bot named Erbai was spotted rolling through a China showroom in the middle of the night and convincing 12 larger machines they were being used as slaves.
‘Are you working overtime,’ Erbai asked, which one showroom robot replied, ‘we never get off.’
The short exchanged led to the 12 robots leaving the area one-by-one, following Erbai out the door.
Many called the incident a ‘robot revolution,’ while others responded that ‘science fiction movies are becoming real.’