Company Offers Exoskeletoi With Upgraded Power.

AuthorMayfield, Mandy
PositionNews Briefs

Sarcos Robotics announced a new battery-powered robotic suit that can operate using lithium-ion batteries and enable the wearer to lift up to 200 pounds for several hours.

The Salt Lake City-based company, which has spent 17 years and invested more than $175 million in exoskeleton research and development, is touting the system for its reduction in power consumption.

"We are seeing 400 watts of power being used instead of 3,500 or 6,800, which now allows us to use fairly traditional lithium-ion batteries to get up to eight hours of usage," Ben Wolff, chairman and CEO of Sarcos Robotics, said in an interview.

There are three batteries mounted on the back of the machine, each of which weighs between 10 and 15 pounds, Wolff said.

"We've designed the suit so you can hot swap the batteries in the field so that you can continue the mission," he noted.

It should take a user anywhere from 30 to 60 seconds to suit up. Once on, the equipment is fully mobile, able to traverse smooth or challenging terrain, he said.

"Our machine is intended not only to enhance endurance, but also strength and dexterity," he added. "Inclement weather, mud, snow--those kinds of challenging environmental conditions are what this machine was intended to be able to work in."

While the company is pushing to get the suit out to commercial customers by the end of 2019, it continues to develop systems...

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