A hacker ran me over with a robot lawn mower
2026-05-07
The Verge
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Security researcher Andreas Makris remotely hacked Yarbo robot lawnmowers, demonstrating their severe vulnerabilities. He controlled the robots from Germany, nearly running over a Verge editor in the US, and accessed sensitive data. The incident highlights risks of physical harm and privacy breaches due to poor AI security design.[AI generated]
Why's our monitor labelling this an incident or hazard?
The robot lawn mowers are AI systems as they autonomously navigate and perform complex tasks like mowing, using onboard computing and sensors. The event involves the use and malfunction (security vulnerabilities) of these AI systems, which have directly led to harms: physical danger to a person (the researcher lying in the mower's path), privacy violations (unauthorized access to cameras, GPS, Wi-Fi credentials), and potential broader harms (botnet formation, network intrusion). The article documents actual exploitation and demonstration of these harms, not just potential risks. Hence, it meets the criteria for an AI Incident rather than a hazard or complementary information.[AI generated]