Incidents in 2021
Recorded incidents involving robots, autonomous vehicles, drones and other physical AI systems in the United States during 2021.
- 4
- Incidents recorded
- 1
- Death
- 1
- Reported injuries
- 2021
- Years covered
4 records
Most recent first- Property damage
Pony.ai driverless test car hits median and sign in Fremont
A Pony.ai test vehicle in autonomous mode struck a center divider and a traffic sign in Fremont on October 28, 2021. California suspended its driverless testing permit.
- Fatal
Suit alleges da Vinci robot burned patient's intestine in Florida surgery
A 2024 federal lawsuit alleged that a da Vinci surgical robot burned a patient's small intestine during colon cancer surgery in Boca Raton in September 2021, leading to her death.
- Property damage
Amazon MK27 test drone crashes and starts field fire near Pendleton
An Amazon Prime Air MK27 prototype lost power on a test flight in eastern Oregon, fell about 160 feet and set several acres of wheat stubble on fire. No one was injured.
- Minor injury
Tesla engineer injured by industrial robot at Giga Texas in 2021
An engineer at Tesla's Austin factory was injured by an industrial robot in 2021. Witness accounts published in 2023 describe a more serious event than Tesla's injury report.