_Incident · Injury_

# Robert Williams, first known person killed by a robot, struck by a parts-retrieval arm at Ford (1979)

Canonical ID: `ee244be1-a10c-4567-9089-f72a20c7ccb6`

- **Occurred:** 1979-01-25
- **Kind:** `injury`
- **Status (derived):** active
- **Company:** [Ford Motor Company](/companies/ford-motor.md) (id: `d55d9fb8-fae4-424d-9747-2026ec16f97a`)

On Jan 25 1979 at Ford's Michigan Casting Center in Flat Rock, Michigan, Robert Williams was struck and killed by the arm of a one-ton Litton-built parts-retrieval robot while he climbed into a storage rack to retrieve parts the robot was moving too slowly. Widely cited as the first human killed by a robot. His family was later awarded $10M in a 1983 product-liability verdict.

## Sources (1)

1. **Wikipedia** · https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Williams_(robot_fatality)

## Common questions

### What happened in Robert Williams, first known person killed by a robot, struck by a parts-retrieval arm at Ford (1979)?

On Jan 25 1979 at Ford's Michigan Casting Center in Flat Rock, Michigan, Robert Williams was struck and killed by the arm of a one-ton Litton-built parts-retrieval robot while he climbed into a storage rack to retrieve parts the robot was moving too slowly. Widely cited as the first human killed by a robot. His family was later awarded $10M in a 1983 product-liability verdict.

### When did this incident occur?

The incident is recorded as occurring on January 25, 1979 on the DEPLOY registry. The date reflects the underlying real-world event, not the registry record's creation date.

### Who was involved in Robert Williams, first known person killed by a robot, struck by a parts-retrieval arm at Ford (1979)?

The incident is recorded as involving Ford Motor Company on the DEPLOY registry. No specific robot model is linked to this incident in the registry.

### Has anyone responded to Robert Williams, first known person killed by a robot, struck by a parts-retrieval arm at Ford (1979)?

No responses to this incident are recorded on the DEPLOY registry. Operators, manufacturers, or affected parties can submit responses to the editorial team; absence is not a guarantee no response was issued.

### What is the current status of Robert Williams, first known person killed by a robot, struck by a parts-retrieval arm at Ford (1979)?

This incident is an active record on the DEPLOY registry; no retraction or correction has been issued.


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