Robot incidents in 2024
The Machine Record holds 26 incidents involving commercial robots in 2024, most involving Waymo: 12 where a person was hurt, 3 of them fatal, and 4 that reached a regulator, a recall or a court.
Counts measure what was reported in the press the register reads and cleared verification, not how many events took place. Fleet sizes are not public, so none of this is a rate. The rules are on the methodology page.
Reading the numbers
The 26 cases dated 2024 are spread over 11 months, with September 2024 the busiest at 5 and 1 month without a case. The newest case is dated 2024-12-27: A Waymo robotaxi collided with a Serve Robotics sidewalk delivery robot at an intersection in West Hollywood, Los Angeles, with neither vehicle sustaining damage.
Waymo accounts for 4 of the 26 cases (15%), followed by Starship Technologies with 2; 10 cases name no company. By kind of machine, autonomous vehicles make up 23% of the set, ahead of consumer robots (5). Most cases are placed in the United States (12), with 6 other countries represented.
In 31% of the cases property was damaged. 12 cases (46%) record a person hurt, 3 of them fatal. The most common type of event is other (5). 8 cases (31%) went beyond the first report to an investigation, a regulator, a recall, a fine or a court.
By kind of machine
By company
By outcome
Every case dated 2024
Newest first. Each one links to its timeline and to the sources it rests on.
- 2024-12-27A Waymo robotaxi collided with a Serve Robotics sidewalk delivery robot at an intersection in West Hollywood, Los Angeles, with neither vehicle sustaining damage.Report
- 2024-12-02Employee Is Struck By Robotic Arm While Cleaning SensorInvestigation
- 2024-11-08Lawn mower: MiimoRecall
- 2024-09-27A paralyzed former jockey was left unable to use his ReWalk Personal exoskeleton after manufacturer Lifeward refused to service the device due to its age, before eventually agreeing to repair it following a public campaign.Report
- 2024-09-27A Waymo robotaxi stalled while making a U-turn in front of Vice President Kamala Harris' motorcade in San Francisco, requiring an SFPD officer to manually drive the vehicle out of the way.Report
- 2024-09-14A Boston Dynamics robot dog fell down a flight of stairs and broke during a demonstration at Jaguar Land Rover's battery testing facility in Coventry.Report
- 2024-09-10An Avride delivery robot collided with a cyclist's e-bike at the intersection of Philomena Street and Berkman Drive in Austin, Texas, causing the cyclist serious personal injuries.Report
- 2024-09-02YouTuber IShowSpeed was set on fire during a livestream when his robot dog equipped with a flamethrower shot flames at him multiple times, causing him to jump into a pool to escape.Report
- 2024-08-22GM's Cruise recalls nearly 1,200 robotaxis to close a US government probe stemming from a crash.Recall
- 2024-08-14The FDA issued a warning letter to Globus Medical after finding that the company failed to properly investigate complaints of misplaced screws and delayed reporting serious injuries, including spinal cord damage to a patient, associated with its ExcelsiusGPS surgical robot.Report
- 2024-07-05A Bear Robotics administrative robot employed by Gumi City Council fell down a flight of stairs between the first and second floors of the council building, destroying itself.Report
- 2024-06-13VA surgical robot procedure at Charleston VAMC resulted in compartment syndrome and permanent arm disability for a veteran in June 2024.Lawsuit
- 2024-06-08A cleaning robot caught fire while charging in Ward 76 of Singapore General Hospital, activating the sprinkler system and prompting evacuation of patients, with no injuries reported.Follow-up
- 2024-05-24Hackers remotely took control of Ecovacs Deebot X2 robot vacuums in multiple US cities, using their speakers to yell racial slurs at owners and their cameras to surveil homes.Follow-up
- 2024-05-21A driverless Waymo Jaguar I-Pace robotaxi collided with a telephone pole at 8 MPH while performing a low-speed pullover maneuver in an alley in Phoenix, sustaining damage but causing no injuries.Recall
- 2024-05-13A Zoox autonomous test vehicle equipped with Amazon's automated driving system stopped suddenly in San Francisco and was rear-ended by a motorcyclist who suffered minor injuries to their hands, prompting an NHTSA investigation opened on May 10, 2024.Investigation
- 2024-04-22A robot vacuum cleaner knocked a heat gun onto the floor of a Kailua home, causing it to turn on and start a fire that resulted in approximately $760,000 in damage to the structure and contents.Report
- 2024-04-17Six Waymo robotaxis blocked traffic at a San Francisco freeway on-ramp.Report
- 2024-04-16A 54-year-old man with a T10 complete spinal cord injury sustained bilateral proximal tibial fractures during a powered robotic exoskeleton physiotherapy session, requiring manipulation under anaesthetic and 12 weeks of non-weight-bearing treatment.Report
- 2024-03-27A factory worker was pinned to a bench and crushed to death by a robot at the Vandapac factory in Chonburi, Thailand.Report
- 2024-03-05A robotic vacuum exploded at a family home in Fenton, raising concerns about a broader safety problemReport
- 2024-03-04Saudi humanoid robot 'Muhammad' allegedly touched a female reporter inappropriately on her back during its public launch at the DeepFast event in Riyadh.Report
- 2024-02-22Employee Dies From Chest Injuries When Crushed By Robot ArmInvestigation
- 2024-02-06A Waymo driverless robotaxi struck a bicyclist who was occluded by a truck at the intersection of 17th Street and Mississippi Street in San Francisco, resulting in minor injuries to the cyclist who was not taken to the hospital.Investigation
- 2024-02-01A Starship Technologies food delivery robot operated for S Group slid off an icy sidewalk in Helsinki, scratching both doors of a parked car, then fled the scene after a passerby placed it back on the road.Report
- 2024-01-17Two Starship delivery robots faced a stalemate on a Cambridge street corner, unable to pass each other.Report
New cases, once a week, 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.