Robot incidents in 2024
The Machine Record holds 28 incidents involving commercial robots in 2024, most involving Waymo: 14 where a person was hurt, 6 of them fatal, and 3 that reached a regulator, a recall or a court.
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. The rules are on the methodology page.
By kind of machine
- Autonomous vehicle6
- Consumer5
- Delivery4
- Robot arm4
- Service3
- Industrial2
- Other2
- Humanoid1
- Surgical1
By company
- Waymo4
- Starship Technologies2
- Avride1
- Bear Robotics1
- Boston Dynamics1
- Cruise1
- Ecovacs1
- Globus Medical1
By outcome
- property damage8
- fatality6
- no harm6
- minor injury4
- serious injury4
Cases
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 Rea person 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
- 2024-06-08A 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 a person 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
- 2024-03-29A robot arm crushed a factory worker to death in Chon Buri, Thailand.Report
- 2024-03-28A robot arm slammed down onto a worker, pinning him to a bench and killing him while he was laying out sheets of metal at the Vandapac factory in Chonburi province, Thailand.Report
- 2024-03-28A robot arm crushed a worker to death at a factory in Thailand, according to the article headline and brief text available.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 female reporter a person 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