Sarcos Robotics Conducts First Field Demonstrations of Guardian® XT™ Industrial Robotic Avatar System
Highly dexterous mobile robotic system used in vegetation, infrastructure nondestructive testing, and oil and gas industry use case scenarios
Sarcos Robotics ("Sarcos"), a leader in the development of robotic systems that augment humans to enhance productivity and safety, today announced it has successfully completed its first product demonstrations of real-world use cases in the field using the company's Guardian® XT™ highly dexterous mobile robotic system—a significant milestone on the path to product commercialization, which is expected by the end of 2022. These field demonstrations were conducted both in the Pacific Northwest and in Southern regions of the United States.
The Guardian XT industrial robotic avatar system—the upper-body variant of the award-winning Sarcos Guardian® XO® full-body, battery-powered industrial exoskeleton—was recently used to conduct live field demonstrations for a leading electric utility construction services company. During this scenario, Sarcos and the customer used the robotic system to successfully conduct at-height tree trimming operations around active powerlines to showcase its ability to reduce occurrences of powerline-related fatalities and injuries. Separately, the company completed a field demonstration with a multi-national, sustainable materials science company. In this instance, the Guardian XT robotic system was used to conduct nondestructive testing (NDT) and inspections of at-height, in-process pipes at a chemical plant with the goal of improving inspection efficiency while reducing potentially life-altering injuries and events associated with at-height work. A third field demonstration was successfully completed with a multi-national oil and gas industry company with a focus on field construction activities.
The Guardian XT industrial robotic avatar system is designed to perform intricate and dangerous tasks requiring human-like dexterity, while eliminating the need for humans to conduct at-height work and removing them from harm's way. It is platform-agnostic and can be mounted to a variety of mobile bases to access hard-to-reach or elevated areas and has applications in a number of industries, including aerospace, automotive, aviation, construction, defense, industrial manufacturing, maritime, and oil and gas.
"These first successful product demonstrations to potential customers utilizing the Guardian XT industrial robotic avatar system in the field are a major achievement for Sarcos as we prepare for commercialization by the end of next year," said Ben Wolff, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Sarcos. "We look forward to continuing the dialogue with these initial partners and obtaining their feedback in order to deliver best-in-class robotics solutions that increase productivity while eliminating the need for their employees to operate in dangerous environments."
In parallel with these first product demonstrations, Sarcos is also advancing its recently announced SenSuit™ wearable robot controller, which will be used for enhanced teleoperation of the Guardian XT robotic system. The robot will integrate the SenSuit wearable controller and a high definition, virtual reality (VR) or augmented reality (AR)-based head-mounted display (HMD) in order to deliver intuitive control of the system and enable the use of standard trade tools.
On April 6, 2021, Sarcos announced that it will become publicly listed through a merger transaction with Rotor Acquisition Corp. (NYSE: ROT.U, ROT, and ROT WS) ("Rotor"), a publicly-traded special purpose acquisition company. The transaction is expected to close in the third quarter of 2021, at which point the combined company's common stock is expected to trade on Nasdaq under the ticker symbol STRC.
For more information on Sarcos, the Guardian XT robot and its award-winning product portfolio, please visit www.sarcos.com.
About Sarcos Robotics
Sarcos Robotics is a leader in industrial robotic systems that augment human performance by combining human intelligence, instinct, and judgment with the strength, endurance, and precision of machines to enhance employee safety and productivity. Leveraging more than 30 years of research and development, Sarcos' mobile robotic systems, including the Guardian® S, Guardian® GT, Guardian® XO®, and Guardian® XT™, are designed to revolutionize the future of work wherever physically demanding work is done. Sarcos is based in Salt Lake City, Utah, and backed by Caterpillar Venture Capital Inc., Delta Air Lines, GE Ventures, Microsoft, and Schlumberger. For more information, please visit www.sarcos.com and the Sarcos investor relations website.
About Rotor Acquisition Corp.
With approximately 100 years of combined experience in investing and managing capital across markets and industries, structuring transactions, and building businesses and led by Chief Executive Officer Brian Finn, Chairman of the Board Stefan M. Selig, and Director John D. Howard, Rotor Acquisition Corp. is a blank check company formed for the purpose of effecting a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, reorganization or similar business combination with potential target companies with certain industry and business characteristics within the areas of disruptive consumer and industrial technologies. For more information, please visit www.rotoracquisition.com.