A technology store in Russia has released footage of a moment it claims shows one of its robot assistants lashing out at a customer after he pushed it.
The video, taken inside Volga Electronics in Saratov, shows the robot walking up to a man as he enters the shop.
The man extends his arm out 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 flurry of kicks and punches aimed at the customer.
Two staff members intervene and are shown trying to hold the robot back as it continues to take aim at the customer.
It is unclear why, if the attack on a customer was genuine and not a publicity stunt, the store would choose to release the footage.
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 grab shows a customer approaching a robot at the Volga Electronics technology store in Saratov, Russia and extending his arm out for a handshake
After the customer pushes the robot, the machine appears to get ready for a fight
The robot is seen unleashing a violent flurry of punches and kicks aimed at the customer
Another said: ‘We will be seeing more instances of this until we pause reckless AI model developments.’
This is not the first video to emerge 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 was giving a unique martial arts demonstration to a crowd of onlookers at Urumqi Botanical Garden in Xinjiang, China.
While the audience filmed the performance, the robot transitioned into a fighting stance and executed a spinning roundhouse kick.
The unexpected move struck a young boy directly in the stomach, leading him to double over in pain before falling backwards into the crowd.
The robot stumbled backwards after the kick before appearing to balance itself, recover and continue the performance.
The video went viral online, with the footage sparking fresh debate over the AI- powered robots.
One commenter wrote on X: ‘Very soon we will be attacked by these robots cause I don’t really know why China is just so enthusiastic about making these robots.’
Store staff rush to intervene as the robot continues to take aim at the customer
The clip has since gone viral on social media
Another added: ‘Why are humans so hell bent on destroying themselves. Who needs these.’
In another instance earlier this year, dozens of bots took to the stage at the CCTV Spring Festival gala, which is China’s most-watched TV show.
Wearing vests, the robots performed kicks, flips, and even moves with nunchucks, swords, and poles.
Amazingly, their daring performance took place just metres away from human children performers.
