Robotics

Battery-powered, full-body exoskeleton lets users lift 200 pounds

Battery-powered, full-body exoskeleton lets users lift 200 pounds
Sarcos' full-body exoskeleton promises to make users twenty times stronger
Sarcos' full-body exoskeleton promises to make users twenty times stronger
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A single battery charges offers eight hours of operation
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A single battery charges offers eight hours of operation
First deliveries are due in early 2020
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First deliveries are due in early 2020
Sarcos' full-body exoskeleton promises to make users twenty times stronger
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Sarcos' full-body exoskeleton promises to make users twenty times stronger
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Imagine a future construction site where a worker can swiftly pick up and move hundreds of pounds of materials thanks to hi-tech exoskeleton suits. Sarcos Robotics is speeding us towards that promising future, now taking pre-orders for the Guardian XO Max – the world's first battery-powered, full-body industrial exoskeleton – with delivery slated for early 2020.

One of the bigger engineering challenges Sarcos faced in creating a functional industrial exoskeleton was developing a way to efficiently power the system off a small battery unit. For the exoskeleton to be commercially viable and practical, it needed to operate for a substantial amount of time on battery power, untethered from any power cables.

After years of work Sarcos has now produced what appears to be a practical untethered system in the form of the Guardian XO Max. This unit that can operate for up to eight hours on a single battery charge and is also designed to have its batteries easily "hot swapped," meaning empty batteries can be replaced with new ones while the unit is still operational in the field.

A single battery charges offers eight hours of operation
A single battery charges offers eight hours of operation

"With our innovations in optimizing power utilization, Sarcos has been able to do what no other robotics company in the world has been able to do with powered exoskeletons or humanoid robots—power a human-scale robot doing meaningful work for up to eight hours on a single charge," explains Sarcos Robotics CEO, Ben Wolff.

The Guardian XO Max is claimed to offer wearers a 20 to 1 strength amplification, meaning around 100 pounds (45 kg) should feel as light as 5 pounds (2.2 kg). It is also claimed there is virtually no latency between human movement and exoskeleton response. So the suit should easily function intuitively, in real-time, to any worker's individual movement or reflex.

First deliveries are due in early 2020
First deliveries are due in early 2020

It's unclear exactly how much these exoskeleton units will cost, but initially they will not be sold individually, rather delivered using a fee-based Robotics-as-a-Service (RaaS) model. In an interview with IEEE Spectrum, Ben Wolff suggests the entire Guardian XO Max package, including installation, maintenance and oversight, "is roughly the equivalent to a fully loaded, all costs included, $25 per hour employee." It is implied that the exoskeleton will notably enhance a worker's productivity making this an enticingly cost-effective proposition for construction and manufacturing companies.

We are already seeing smaller iterations of this exoskeleton technology rolling out in factories around the world. Last year Ford moved to implement an upper-body support exoskeleton in all its factories after a successful trial. LG is also incredibly close to commercially releasing its SuitBot, another support exoskeleton helping factory workers lift heavier loads, for longer periods of time.

It is only a matter of time before this kind of wearable robotic technology completely revolutionizes construction industries, and the release of Sarcos' Guardian XO Max looks like the first wave of new exoskeletons promising to augment human strength and enhance efficiency.

Source: Sarcos Robotics

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7 comments
7 comments
Daishi
I disagree with the statement that it's only a matter of time before it revolutionizes construction. This is more science fiction than engineering. The machine requires human muscle for lift and balance or it does not. At the point it needs the human inside to balance it's unstable, at the point it does not conforming around the shape of a human is pointless. Using human joints as load bearing with an enhanced power system will damage and wear the human joints similarly to the health problems associated with power lifting. This path could lead to gruesome workplace injuries and long term health consequences. The human body isn't really designed to exert force beyond its own capability and carrying this around on you would equate to knee and back problems, shin splints, and foot injuries. There is liability in stressing employees bodies in this way. What can you do with this that you can't do with an ATV sized forklift or lift or a movable mechanical arm? I don't oppose mechanical assistance for human labor but I don't believe exoskeletons will win the day.
Malatrope
And eventually exoskeletons will revolutionize mobility for old people, but they will have to prove themselves safe to use.
ljaques
If those can truly do what Sarco says they can do, a real-time video of them in action should spur tens of millions of unit sales overnight. I wish I'd had a suit like that when I was a handyman. The old bod wouldn't be as broken as it is now. LOL
maciej
The last line of defence against the alien queen is coming! That should be the title folks...
Jean Lamb
How long ago was STARSHIP TROOPERS published? Mobile infantry on the way!
Cuvir
Daishi. It would appear that the exoskeleton bears the weight, so I don't think human joints are bearing the weight. A different company has one to assist bending for lifting. It uses knees and ankles to bear weight. This one is an exo-skeleton. The ads say this is a force multiplier, so you put in 20 pounds you get 200 or something. Your joints are only experiencing the 20 pounds. There are many places in construction where you can't get a forklift. Being able to walk in, even if through a door, would often be helpful. Imagine being able to carry a piece of equipment up the stairs rather than waiting in line for the crane operations for a minimal load. Balance totally would depend on the feedback to the operator. If they have this solved they have a winner, and we will see the robot doing ballet with unbalanced weights.
JeffK
Malatrope - Not just mobility for old people. While I'm 68 I was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis at 30 and had to medically retire at 54 after developing fibromyalgia. While I exercise to maintain reasonable mobility, a refinement of this technology could enable me and countless others to greatly expand our useful life span and contribute to society.