Commercial robot incidents, October 2026
1 commercial robot incidents dated October 2026 so far (provisional, verification backlog), 1 with a person hurt and 0 fatal. 12 cases were added to the register during the month. Most involved Unitree Robotics (1). Largest class: humanoids (1).
Provisional. 1094 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, 2026-10-01 to 2026-10-31, so this month is still filling in. 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: September 2026. Quarterly view: the quarterly record.
By kind of machine
- Humanoids1
By company
- Unitree Robotics1
By outcome
- minor injury1
The cases that reached furthest
Ordered by severity, then by how many independent sources the case rests on.
12 cases published in October 2026
Everything that cleared verification during the month, including older events documented for the first time. This is the list to cite for what the register learned, as opposed to what happened.
- 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
- 2026-09-25An iamo autonomous taxi struck a ground plate during a test drive in Dänikon, damaging the plate and two tires.Report
- 2025-12-03Tesla Autopilot disengaged mid-curve on a rural road in Cocoa, Florida on December 3, 2025, causing a collision with a utility pole that seriously injured the front-seat passenger.Lawsuit
- 2023-10-31A Robotic E-GYM Leg Press machine at a Montgomery, Alabama YMCA malfunctioned on October 31, 2023, allegedly forcefully compressing a user's knees into her chest and causing sacroiliac joint dysfunction, piriformis syndrome, and sciatic nerve involvement.Lawsuit
- 2024-06-13VA surgical robot procedure at Charleston VAMC resulted in compartment syndrome and permanent arm disability for a veteran in June 2024.Lawsuit
- 2025-01-16Globus Medical Excelsius GPS surgical robot allegedly malfunctioned during spinal surgery on January 16, 2025, causing misplaced pedicle screws and persistent neurological deficits in the patient, according to a federal lawsuit filed December 5, 2025.Lawsuit
- 2020-11-17Lawsuit filed against Intuitive Surgical and VA physicians alleging robotic surgery negligence led to the death of a patient on March 23, 2023.Lawsuit
- 2019-04-25Tesla Model S Autopilot crash in Key Largo on April 25, 2019 killed one person and seriously injured another, resulting in a $243 million jury verdict against Tesla now under appeal in the 11th Circuit.Lawsuit
- 2026-10-10Cologne police seized a Unitree humanoid robot and investigated two suspects after the robot allegedly groped a 16-year-old girl during a livestreamed incident on October 10, 2026, according to Cologne Police.Investigation
- 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
- 2026-09-01A 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
All 1 incidents dated October 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.
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.