Commercial robot incidents, Q2 2026
Q2 2026: 41 documented incidents involving commercial robots (+17% on the quarter before), 20 with a person hurt and 2 fatal. 6 reached a regulator, a recall or a court. Most involved Waymo (19). Largest class: autonomous vehicle (27).
Incidents are counted by the date they happened, 2026-04-01 to 2026-06-30. 0 cases were published to the register during the quarter, including older events documented for the first time. Counts measure what was reported in English and cleared verification; fleet sizes are not public, so nothing here is a rate. Rules on the methodology page. Previous quarter for comparison: Q1 2026.
By kind of machine
- Autonomous vehicle27
- Humanoid8
- Delivery3
- Consumer1
- Other1
- Robot arm1
By company
- Waymo19
- Unitree Robotics4
- Tesla3
- Zoox2
- Avride1
- Coco Robotics1
- Daxbot1
- Kyoto Humanoid Association (KyoHA)1
By outcome
- no harm16
- minor injury15
- property damage5
- serious injury3
- fatality2
Notable
The cases that reached furthest
Ordered by severity, then by how many independent sources the case rests on.
- 2026-05-15Dunedin robotics company charged following a worker's death involving a robotCriminal charge
- 2026-05-08A 22-year-old trainee engineer, Ramanjaneyulu, was fatally injured after being caught in a robotic arm at NPH Industries, a Kia ancillary unit in Penukonda, Andhra Pradesh.Report
- 2026-05-01A Waymo autonomous vehicle (Zeekr Rt) was involved in a crash with pickup truck in Los Angeles, CA, reported to NHTSA as moderate w/ hospitalizationReport
- 2026-05-01A Waymo autonomous vehicle (Jaguar I-Pace) was involved in a crash with pickup truck in Phoenix, AZ, reported to NHTSA as moderate w/ hospitalizationReport
- 2026-04-01A Waymo autonomous vehicle (Jaguar I-Pace) was involved in a crash with suv in San Francisco, CA, reported to NHTSA as moderate w/ hospitalizationReport
- 2026-06-05Humanoid robot kicks a child during a public performance in Xinjiang, ChinaFollow-up
Escalation index
Whose incidents reach consequences
Share of a company's recorded incidents, across the whole register, that reached a regulator, a recall or a court. Companies with fewer than the threshold of cases are left out. Register total: 280 cases, 39 escalated.
- Zoox5/9 · 56%
- Cruise3/10 · 30%
- Tesla2/15 · 13%
- Starship Technologies1/9 · 11%
- Waymo5/69 · 7%
- Unitree Robotics0/11 · 0%
Filed with the regulator
What the operators wrote in their own crash reports
1437 crash reports filed with NHTSA by 17 operators under the Standing General Order, read by theme. The federal file has one structured column for what was struck; these counts exist nowhere else.
- Emergency responders on scene, most often Waymo LLC128
- Stopped or blocking traffic, most often Waymo LLC124
- A pedestrian involved, most often Waymo LLC59
- A cyclist or scooter rider, most often Waymo LLC41
- Rear-ended by another vehicle, most often Zoox, Inc.36
- Roadworks, cones or a closure, most often Waymo LLC24
Every case
All 41 incidents dated Q2 2026
Newest first. Each one links to its timeline and to the sources it rests on. Case metadata is CC BY 4.0; cite the register by its DOI, 10.5281/zenodo.22925531.
- 2026-06-20Zoox recalled software on all 105 robotaxis after one vehicle drove into an active fire scene obscured by heavy smoke in Las Vegas on June 20, 2026.Recall
- 2026-06-20An unoccupied Zoox driverless robotaxi struggled to navigate heavy smoke at a fire scene on June 20, 2026, braking hard and coming to a stop, prompting a software recall across all 105 of the company's public-road vehicles.Recall
- 2026-06-18Waymo recalled approximately 3,900 robotaxis after 13 known incidents in which vehicles drove into closed freeway construction zones in Phoenix, Arizona, and the San Francisco Bay Area, prompting a voluntary software recall filed with NHTSA.Recall
- 2026-06-11A Daxbot sidewalk robot being directed through a crosswalk by a human operator was struck and damaged by a truck making a right turn at the intersection of West Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and North Palace Avenue in Tyler, Texas.Report
- 2026-06-10Tesla's robotaxi service reported to have long waits and stalled rides during operationReport
- 2026-06-05Humanoid robot kicks a child during a public performance in Xinjiang, ChinaFollow-up
- 2026-06-03CNN analysis of government records and social media videos found hundreds of incidents in which Waymo robotaxis made dangerous maneuvers including running red lights, driving into oncoming traffic and flooded roads, and coming within inches of pedestrians across multiple US cities.Report
- 2026-06-01A Waymo autonomous vehicle (Zeekr Rt) was involved in a crash with non-motorist: scooter - skateboard in Los Angeles, CA, reported to NHTSA as moderate w/o hospitalizationReport
- 2026-06-01A Zoox autonomous vehicle (Zoox Zoox) was involved in a crash with pickup truck in Las Vegas, NV, reported to NHTSA as minor w/ hospitalizationReport
- 2026-06-01A Waymo autonomous vehicle (Jaguar I-Pace) was involved in a crash with suv in Los Angeles, CA, reported to NHTSA as minor w/ hospitalizationReport
- 2026-05-22A Unitree G1 humanoid robot suffered a mid-performance malfunction while dancing to Michael Jackson's 'Billie Jean' at the Future Era robot store in Shenzhen, China, stumbling and collapsing before being dragged off stage by a human assistant.Report
- 2026-05-20A Unitree humanoid robot fell twice while performing Michael Jackson's moonwalk at an event organized by robot store Future Era in Shenzhen, China, and had to be dragged off stage by staff.Follow-up
- 2026-05-17An unoccupied Waymo robotaxi struck a guard gate barrier arm at the entrance of a condo community in Miami-Dade County; no injuries were reported.Report
- 2026-05-15Dunedin robotics company charged following a worker's death involving a robotCriminal charge
- 2026-05-15Tesla unredacted 17 autonomous driving crash reports filed with NHTSA covering incidents from July 2025 through March 2026 in Austin, Texas, revealing that of the crashes involving its Robotaxi fleet, 13 resulted in property damage only, 2 had no injuries, 1 involved a minor injury without hospitalization, and 1 involved a minor injury requiring hospitalization.Report
- 2026-05-13Waymo recalled approximately 3,800 robotaxis due to a software failure that caused vehicles to drive into flooded roads.Recall
- 2026-05-13An Uber Eats food delivery robot designed by Avride entered a crosswalk against a stop signal in Philadelphia and was struck by a truck, dislodging one of its wheels before the robot continued on.Report
- 2026-05-08A 22-year-old trainee engineer, Ramanjaneyulu, was fatally injured after being caught in a robotic arm at NPH Industries, a Kia ancillary unit in Penukonda, Andhra Pradesh.Report
- 2026-05-03A humanoid robot performing a group dance with students at a university sports day opening ceremony in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China, malfunctioned due to signal interference from an onsite drone and lunged at and hugged a female student, who was uninjured.Follow-up
- 2026-05-02A Unitree humanoid robot malfunctioned during a festive performance in a Beijing park, aggressively flailing its limbs near human dancers until organizers powered it down.Report
- 2026-05-01A Waymo autonomous vehicle (Jaguar I-Pace) was involved in a crash with passenger car in Santa Monica, CA, reported to NHTSA as minor w/ hospitalizationReport
- 2026-05-01A Waymo autonomous vehicle (Zeekr Rt) was involved in a crash with pickup truck in Los Angeles, CA, reported to NHTSA as moderate w/ hospitalizationReport
- 2026-05-01A Waymo autonomous vehicle (Jaguar I-Pace) was involved in a crash with passenger car in Los Angeles, CA, reported to NHTSA as moderate w/o hospitalizationReport
- 2026-05-01A Waymo autonomous vehicle (Jaguar I-Pace) was involved in a crash with pickup truck in Phoenix, AZ, reported to NHTSA as moderate w/ hospitalizationReport
- 2026-05-01A Waymo autonomous vehicle (Jaguar I-Pace) was involved in a crash with passenger car in Inglewood, CA, reported to NHTSA as minor w/ hospitalizationReport
- 2026-05-01A Tesla remote operator, while attempting to maneuver an autonomous Model Y out of a dead-end residential road in Houston, drove the vehicle into a hidden tree stump at 2 mph, causing minor property damage.Report
- 2026-04-28During its public unveiling in Kyoto, the humanoid robot prototype SEIMEI suffered a leg component malfunction just before the presentation, preventing any walking demonstration.Report
- 2026-04-26A humanoid robot performing at a university dance event in Shaanxi province, China, unexpectedly moved toward and hugged a female student, with staff quickly intervening; the student was not injured, and the incident was attributed to signal interference from simultaneously operating drones.Follow-up
- 2026-04-26A dancing humanoid robot at a university sports event in Shaanxi, China suddenly turned and hugged a female dancer beside it before staff intervened and pulled it away.Follow-up
- 2026-04-25Waymo announced it would skip a public meeting in Austin convened to address the incident in which one of its robotaxis blocked an ambulance.Report
- 2026-04-18A video compilation shows multiple delivery robot incidents, including a Coco Robotics bot struck by a train, a Starship Technologies robot disrupting a marching band in Tennessee, a Coco bot dragged by a car in Los Angeles, another Coco bot falling down stairs, and a Serve Robotics bot left with a damaged tire after a collision.Report
- 2026-04-09Wybotics Recalls Robotic Pool Vacuums Due to Burn and Fire HazardsRecall
- 2026-04-05A Waymo robotaxi entered a drive-thru the wrong way in Los Angeles, causing concern for a waiting passenger's family before the vehicle stopped and the passenger boarded.Report
- 2026-04-01A Waymo autonomous vehicle (Jaguar I-Pace) was involved in a crash with suv in San Francisco, CA, reported to NHTSA as moderate w/ hospitalizationReport
- 2026-04-01A Waymo autonomous vehicle (Jaguar I-Pace) was involved in a crash with suv in San Francisco, CA, reported to NHTSA as minor w/ hospitalizationReport
- 2026-04-01A Waymo autonomous vehicle (Jaguar I-Pace) was involved in a crash with suv in Los Angeles, CA, reported to NHTSA as minor w/ hospitalizationReport
- 2026-04-01A Waymo autonomous vehicle (Jaguar I-Pace) was involved in a crash with pickup truck in Atlanta, GA, reported to NHTSA as minor w/ hospitalizationReport
- 2026-04-01A Waymo autonomous vehicle (Jaguar I-Pace) was involved in a crash with motorcycle in Atlanta, GA, reported to NHTSA as moderate w/o hospitalizationReport
- 2026-04-01A Waymo autonomous vehicle (Jaguar I-Pace) was involved in a crash with suv in Los Angeles, CA, reported to NHTSA as minor w/ hospitalizationReport
- 2026-04-01A May Mobility autonomous vehicle (Toyota Sienna) was involved in a crash with other, see narrative in Atlanta, GA, reported to NHTSA as minor w/ hospitalizationReport
- 2026-04-01A Waymo autonomous vehicle (Jaguar I-Pace) was involved in a crash with suv in Los Angeles, CA, reported to NHTSA as minor w/ hospitalizationReport