The Sarcos Guardian S sure looks like a snake, but the first thing their reps will say is they don’t call it that. Instead, they’re focused on the capabilities and purpose, being able to navigate challenging obstacles, like stairs, pipes, and sheer vertical, metal surfaces (think: columns in a building, elevator shafts.) Recently launched, Sarcos markets it to industrial and defense organizations, and the representatives at their booth at GTC (Nvidia’s annual GPU Technology gathering) say that the commercial reception since its launch less than a year ago have been phenomenal.
The company has a history of interesting robotic builds. It spun out of the University of Utah in the 1980s, worked on commercial robotics through the 90s, and partnered with Darpa for an exoskeleton endeavor in the mid-2000s. Owned for a period by Raytheon, much of its focus has remained in defense-focused technologies. Its latest three products are this, a track-mounted, two-armed vehicle that you ride behind and control with your own arm movements, and an advanced exoskeleton suit.
The Guardian S earned its spot at GTC owing to its Jetson TX2 processor, coupled to six 4K cameras placed around the device. It’s not designed for casual use either, costing $75,000 for the basic unit and going up from there.
As for its wall-climbing abilities, I got a one-word response: “Magnets.”
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