Commercial robot incidents, January 2026
7 commercial robot incidents dated January 2026 so far (provisional, verification backlog), 4 with a person hurt and 0 fatal. 0 cases were added to the register during the month. Most involved Waymo (2). Largest class: autonomous vehicles (4).
Provisional. 39 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, 2026-01-01 to 2026-01-31. 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: December 2025. Quarterly view: the quarterly record.
By kind of machine
- Autonomous vehicles4
- delivery2
- Humanoids1
By company
- Waymo2
- Avride1
- Boston Dynamics1
- Coco Robotics1
- Uber Eats1
By outcome
- minor injury4
- property damage3
The cases that reached furthest
Ordered by severity, then by how many independent sources the case rests on.
- 2026-01-23A driverless Waymo robotaxi struck a child who had stepped into the street from behind an SUV during morning drop-off outside a Santa Monica elementary school, resulting in minor injuries.Investigation
- 2026-01-01A Waymo autonomous vehicle (Jaguar I-Pace) was involved in a crash with passenger car in Los Angeles, CA, reported to NHTSA as minor w/ hospitalizationReport
- 2026-01-01A Avride Inc. autonomous vehicle (Hyundai Ioniq 5) was involved in a crash with passenger car in Dallas, TX, reported to NHTSA as minor w/ hospitalizationReport
- 2026-01-01A May Mobility autonomous vehicle (Toyota Sienna) was involved in a crash with other fixed object in Atlanta, GA, reported to NHTSA as minor w/ hospitalizationReport
- 2026-01-23An ambulance transporting a patient to a hospital collided with an automated food delivery cart at the intersection of Western and Fountain avenues in Hollywood, causing no additional injuries but requiring the patient to be transferred to a second ambulance.Follow-up
All 7 incidents dated January 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.
- 2026-01-23A driverless Waymo robotaxi struck a child who had stepped into the street from behind an SUV during morning drop-off outside a Santa Monica elementary school, resulting in minor injuries.Investigation
- 2026-01-23An ambulance transporting a patient to a hospital collided with an automated food delivery cart at the intersection of Western and Fountain avenues in Hollywood, causing no additional injuries but requiring the patient to be transferred to a second ambulance.Follow-up
- 2026-01-15An Uber Eats delivery robot became stuck on railroad tracks in Miami and was struck and destroyed by an oncoming train on January 15, 2026, with no injuries reported.Follow-up
- 2026-01-07Boston Dynamics' Atlas humanoid robot performed a backflip during a CES 2026 demonstration in Las Vegas, landing successfully but losing its hand in the process.Report
- 2026-01-01A Waymo autonomous vehicle (Jaguar I-Pace) was involved in a crash with passenger car in Los Angeles, CA, reported to NHTSA as minor w/ hospitalizationReport
- 2026-01-01A Avride Inc. autonomous vehicle (Hyundai Ioniq 5) was involved in a crash with passenger car in Dallas, TX, reported to NHTSA as minor w/ hospitalizationReport
- 2026-01-01A May Mobility autonomous vehicle (Toyota Sienna) was involved in a crash with other fixed object in Atlanta, GA, reported to NHTSA as minor w/ hospitalizationReport
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.