Commercial robot incidents, May 2025
5 commercial robot incidents dated May 2025 so far (provisional, verification backlog), 2 with a person hurt and 1 fatal. 0 cases were added to the register during the month. Most involved Zoox (2). Largest class: autonomous vehicles (3).
Provisional. 23 reports published in or just after this month are still in the verification queue, so the count will rise as they clear. A lower figure here means a slower queue, not fewer incidents.
Incidents are counted by the date they happened, 2025-05-01 to 2025-05-31. 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. The register holds 255 cases in all. Rules on the methodology page. Previous month: April 2025. Quarterly view: the quarterly record.
By kind of machine
- Autonomous vehicles3
- Humanoids1
- robot_arm1
By company
- Zoox2
- Unitree Robotics1
- Waymo1
By outcome
- no harm2
- fatality1
- minor injury1
- property damage1
The cases that reached furthest
Ordered by severity, then by how many independent sources the case rests on.
- 2025-05-26An employee of N&C Enterprises Ltd. in Kilmeague was struck and killed by a rotating robotic arm after entering a restricted area through a retrofitted gate that bypassed the plant's safety protections.Report
- 2025-05-08An unoccupied Zoox robotaxi was struck by an electric scooter at a San Francisco intersection after braking to yield, causing the rider to fall; the robotaxi continued moving and completed a turn before stopping without making further contact with the rider, who sustained minor injuries.Recall
- 2025-05-14Waymo recalled 1,212 robotaxis after NHTSA opened a probe into 16 collisions between 2022 and late 2024 in which Waymo vehicles struck chains, gates, and other roadway barriers, with no injuries reported.Recall
- 2025-05-06Zoox issues software recall for 270 robotaxis following a collision in Las VegasRecall
- 2025-05-03An 'out of control' humanoid robot caused a disturbance in China, alarming engineers nearby.Follow-up
All 5 incidents dated May 2025
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.
- 2025-05-26An employee of N&C Enterprises Ltd. in Kilmeague was struck and killed by a rotating robotic arm after entering a restricted area through a retrofitted gate that bypassed the plant's safety protections.Report
- 2025-05-14Waymo recalled 1,212 robotaxis after NHTSA opened a probe into 16 collisions between 2022 and late 2024 in which Waymo vehicles struck chains, gates, and other roadway barriers, with no injuries reported.Recall
- 2025-05-08An unoccupied Zoox robotaxi was struck by an electric scooter at a San Francisco intersection after braking to yield, causing the rider to fall; the robotaxi continued moving and completed a turn before stopping without making further contact with the rider, who sustained minor injuries.Recall
- 2025-05-06Zoox issues software recall for 270 robotaxis following a collision in Las VegasRecall
- 2025-05-03An 'out of control' humanoid robot caused a disturbance in China, alarming engineers nearby.Follow-up
The next roundup, and every case before it, by email
Every case added to the register in the last seven days, with its sources. Free, no account, and the register is the only sender.