What counts as an incident here?

A case enters the register only when two independent published sources or one regulator record (NHTSA, CPSC, OSHA, EU Safety Gate) describe the same event with a date and an outcome. Demonstrations that went wrong, recalls, investigations, injuries and deaths all count; marketing and speculation do not.

Is this every incident that happened?

No. It is every incident reported in English that cleared verification. Fleet sizes are not public, so none of these numbers is a rate, and a company with more cases is often a company with more vehicles on the road and more press coverage.

Can I reuse these numbers?

Yes. Case metadata is CC BY 4.0: cite The Machine Record with a link. CSV and JSON exports and an API are on the data page.

By kind of machine

Consumer robot incidents

Name: Consumer robot incidents
Creator: The Machine Record
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

The Machine Record lists 24 verified incidents involving consumer robots such as robot vacuums and lawn mowers since 2013: 6 where a person was hurt, 1 of them fatal, 7 that reached a regulator, recall, fine, lawsuit or settlement. Counted on 2026-10-03; every case links to its sources.

Cases: 24
Someone hurt: 6
Fatal: 1
Escalated: 7
Period: 2013-11 to 2026-07

By year

2013██ 1
2014 0
2015██ 1
2016██ 1
2017 0
2018 0
2019██ 1
2020██ 1
2021 0
2022█████ 2
2023██████████ 4
2024████████████ 5
2025███████ 3
2026████████████ 5

By outcome

property damage11
no harm6
minor injury3
serious injury2
fatality1

By type of event

recall9
fire7
malfunction3
injury3
other1
lawsuit1

By company

Counts measure what was reported in English and cleared verification, not how many events took place. Fleet sizes are not public, so none of this is a rate. Rules are on the methodology page; the numbers are CC BY 4.0, cite this page. CSV, JSON and an API are on the data page.

Cases

The 24 cases behind the number

Newest first. Each one links to its timeline and to the sources it rests on.

Filter the registry

Questions

What people ask about these numbers

How many incidents involving consumer robots such as robot vacuums and lawn mowers are on record?: The Machine Record lists 24 verified incidents involving consumer robots such as robot vacuums and lawn mowers since 2013: 6 where a person was hurt, 1 of them fatal, 7 that reached a regulator, recall, fine, lawsuit or settlement. Counted on 2026-10-03; every case links to its sources.
What counts as an incident here?: A case enters the register only when two independent published sources or one regulator record (NHTSA, CPSC, OSHA, EU Safety Gate) describe the same event with a date and an outcome. Demonstrations that went wrong, recalls, investigations, injuries and deaths all count; marketing and speculation do not.
Is this every incident that happened?: No. It is every incident reported in English that cleared verification. Fleet sizes are not public, so none of these numbers is a rate, and a company with more cases is often a company with more vehicles on the road and more press coverage.
Can I reuse these numbers?: Yes. Case metadata is CC BY 4.0: cite The Machine Record with a link. CSV and JSON exports and an API are on the data page.