Navy Shipyard partners with Sarcos Robotics

Sarcos Robotics exoskeleton

Sarcos Robotics, a specialist in robotic systems that augment rather than replace humans, reports that it has partnered with Puget Sound Naval Shipyard (PSNS) & Intermediate Maintenance Facility (IMF) to evaluate and deploy robotic technologies, including full-body, powered exoskeletons and man-portable inspection robots, for use in naval shipyards.

“Sarcos is revolutionizing the robotics industry and redefining the workforce of the future by developing robots that enhance human productivity, while increasing worker safety,” said Ben Wolff, chairman and CEO of Sarcos Robotics. “We look forward to partnering with the Navy to evaluate and deploy our advanced robotic systems to meet the needs of the Navy’s vision for the shipyard of the future.”

Under the terms of the agreement, Sarcos and PSNS & IMF will evaluate Sarcos’ Guardian XO battery-powered full-body exoskeleton as well as its Guardian S inspection robot for use across a wide variety of unstructured, challenging work environments and tasks.

Areas of initial focus will be manipulation of heavy items, use of power tools and inspection of confined spaces.

“This partnership provides an exciting opportunity for the shipyard to develop innovative solutions to improve our work while providing a safer, more ergonomic work environment for our employees,” said Capt. Howard Markle, commander of PSNS & IMF.

Sarcos says that its Guardian XO is the world’s first full-body, powered industrial exoskeleton capable of enabling a human operator to safely lift and manipulate up to 200 pounds for extended work sessions.

Investors in Sarcos include Caterpillar, GE Ventures, Microsoft, and Schlumberger.