LOS ANGELES, Dec. 26 (Xinhua) -- Sarcos Robotics, a leading U.S. developer and producer of robots, will deliver the "Alpha" units of its new full-body, powered industrial exoskeleton to industrial and military customers in early 2020, the company told Xinhua in a recent interview.
Based on an early prototype which was recognized as one of the world's top innovations, the Guardian XO exoskeleton is a powered, untethered, industrial exoskeleton suit that improves human strength and endurance without restricting the operator's freedom of movement.
"Based on research and development initially funded by DARPA (the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency), the Guardian XO has been in development by Sarcos' engineering team for over 20 years," Katie Merrick Guest, account director of ZM Communications, told Xinhua.
"The Sarcos team is the world's only to have successfully produced a full-body, powered exoskeleton that augments human performance with enhanced strength and endurance in both the upper and lower body," she said.
According to the company, the Guardian XO can enable an operator to safely lift and manipulate up to 200 pounds (90 kilograms) without fatigue or strain for up to an eight-hour work session.
"The human operator bears none of the weight of the exoskeleton, and it can be donned and doffed in under one minute," Guest said.
The Guardian XO is relevant to a multitude of large global markets, such as manufacturing of all types, construction, utilities, logistics, oil and gas, automotive, aviation, public safety, and defense industries where heavy lifting or manipulating of awkward objects is required, she said.
The first Guardian XO Alpha units will ship to Sarcos' Industrial Exoskeleton Technical Advisory Group and the U.S. military in early 2020, with commercial availability in late 2020, according to Guest.
