Commercial robot incidents, Q3 2026
Q3 2026: 18 documented incidents involving commercial robots so far (provisional, verification backlog), 10 with a person hurt and 1 fatal. 0 reached a regulator, a recall or a court. Most involved Waymo (7). Largest class: autonomous vehicle (11).
Provisional. 55 reports published in or just after this quarter are still in the verification queue, so the count will rise as they clear and the comparison with Q2 2026 is withheld until then. A lower figure here means a slower queue, not fewer incidents.
Incidents are counted by the date they happened, 2026-07-01 to 2026-09-30. 243 cases were published to the register during the quarter, including older events documented for the first time. Counts measure what was reported in the press the register reads and cleared verification; fleet sizes are not public, so nothing here is a rate. Rules on the methodology page. Previous quarter for comparison: Q2 2026.
By outcome
The cases that reached furthest
Ordered by severity, then by how many independent sources the case rests on.
- 2026-08-01A Waymo autonomous vehicle (Jaguar I-Pace) was involved in a crash with non-motorist: pedestrian in Dallas, TX, reported to NHTSA as a fatalityReport
- 2026-07-03A robot vacuum exploded at a home in Brabham, Perth, critically burning a 25-year-old man over approximately 75% of his body and destroying the property.Follow-up
- 2026-07-15GM Cruise robotaxi injury lawsuit sent to arbitration due to sign-in wrap agreementReport
- 2026-07-01A Waymo autonomous vehicle (Jaguar I-Pace) was involved in a crash with suv in Atlanta, GA, reported to NHTSA as moderate w/ hospitalizationReport
- 2026-07-01A Waymo autonomous vehicle (Jaguar I-Pace) was involved in a crash with bus in San Francisco, CA, reported to NHTSA as moderate w/ hospitalizationReport
- 2026-09-25A Zoox robotaxi collided with a silver Nissan Murano on Las Vegas Boulevard near Four Seasons Drive on September 25, 2026, sending the Murano driver to a hospital with minor upper-body injuries.Report
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: 256 cases, 42 escalated.
- Cruise5/8 · 63%
- Zoox4/9 · 44%
- Starship Technologies1/8 · 13%
- Waymo7/73 · 10%
- Tesla1/13 · 8%
- Unitree Robotics0/9 · 0%
What the operators wrote in their own crash reports
1551 crash reports filed with NHTSA by 19 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 Zoox, Inc.144
- Stopped or blocking traffic, most often Waymo LLC140
- A pedestrian involved, most often Waymo LLC65
- A cyclist or scooter rider, most often Waymo LLC46
- Rear-ended by another vehicle, most often Zoox, Inc.42
- Roadworks, cones or a closure, most often Waymo LLC24
All 18 incidents dated Q3 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.
- 2026-09-25An iamo autonomous taxi struck a ground plate during a test drive in Dänikon, damaging the plate and two tires.Report
- 2026-09-25A Zoox robotaxi collided with a silver Nissan Murano on Las Vegas Boulevard near Four Seasons Drive on September 25, 2026, sending the Murano driver to a hospital with minor upper-body injuries.Report
- 2026-09-06Autonomous community bus 'Kurulin' in Fukaya, Saitama collided with a roadside fence and bus stop sign on 6 September 2026, causing property damage but no injuries.Report
- 2026-09-01A Waymo autonomous vehicle (Jaguar I-Pace) was involved in a crash with other fixed object in Houston, TX, reported to NHTSA as minor w/ hospitalizationReport
- 2026-08-02A patrolling robot was damaged after falling down a staircase at Hong Kong airport.Report
- 2026-08-01A Waymo autonomous vehicle (Jaguar I-Pace) was involved in a crash with passenger car in Atlanta, GA, reported to NHTSA as minor w/ hospitalizationReport
- 2026-08-01A Waymo autonomous vehicle (Jaguar I-Pace) was involved in a crash with suv in Dallas, TX, reported to NHTSA as minor w/ hospitalizationReport
- 2026-08-01A Waymo autonomous vehicle (Jaguar I-Pace) was involved in a crash with non-motorist: pedestrian in Dallas, TX, reported to NHTSA as a fatalityReport
- 2026-07-30AI humanoid robot collapsed during a live demonstration in Taiwan, video went viral.Report
- 2026-07-26Qualcomm's new AI robot collapsed and malfunctioned during an on-stage demonstrationFollow-up
- 2026-07-25A DoorDash delivery robot wandered into an active SWAT operation and refused to leaveFollow-up
- 2026-07-21A fire believed to have been sparked by a robot vacuum broke out at a Hanyang Apartments unit in Apgujeong-dong, Gangnam District, Seoul, forcing more than 20 residents to evacuate and requiring 133 firefighting personnel to extinguish; one resident suffered dizziness from smoke inhalation.Investigation
- 2026-07-17During the opening night of the URKL humanoid robot combat tournament in Shenzhen, an EngineAI T800 robot named 'Matador' had its head knocked off by opponent 'White Eagle' and was knocked out of the fight.Report
- 2026-07-15GM Cruise robotaxi injury lawsuit sent to arbitration due to sign-in wrap agreementReport
- 2026-07-03A robot vacuum exploded at a home in Brabham, Perth, critically burning a 25-year-old man over approximately 75% of his body and destroying the property.Follow-up
- 2026-07-01A Waymo autonomous vehicle (Jaguar I-Pace) was involved in a crash with suv in Atlanta, GA, reported to NHTSA as moderate w/ hospitalizationReport
- 2026-07-01A Waymo autonomous vehicle (Jaguar I-Pace) was involved in a crash with bus in San Francisco, CA, reported to NHTSA as moderate w/ hospitalizationReport
- 2026-07-01A Waymo autonomous vehicle (Jaguar I-Pace) was involved in a crash with suv in Washington, DC, reported to NHTSA as minor w/ hospitalizationReport