Jan 21 2015
Sarcos LC announced today that it has completed the acquisition of the Raytheon Sarcos unit of Raytheon, a leading developer of robotics and micro-electro-mechanical technologies.
The exoskeletal Iron Man-like suit by Sarcos, the XOS-2, was named one of The 50 Best Inventions by Time Magazine. A global leader in the commercialization of robotics, micro systems, and sensor technologies for use in the health care, life sciences, telecommunications, robotics, defense, and entertainment industries, Sarcos is headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo: Business Wire)
The new Sarcos, backed by a consortium led by former Raytheon Sarcos President Dr. Fraser Smith and technology and telecom entrepreneur Ben Wolff, continues to be based in Salt Lake City, Utah. Smith will serve as the new company’s chief executive officer and president, while Wolff will serve as chairman.
“For the past seven years, Sarcos has been solely focused on developing cutting edge technologies used by governmental agencies, “ said Sarcos President and CEO Smith. “With this acquisition, we are able to refocus the business to commercialize our past innovations, while developing new products for solving global challenges as they relate to robotics, medical devices, and the Internet of Things.” According to Smith, many of the products Sarcos developed for the government are highly relevant to the private sector and will be commercially available in the near future.
In 2007, Raytheon acquired the Sarcos business, which has a history of developing technologies in partnership with, and for, government agencies such as the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), an agency of the U.S. Department of Defense, NASA, the Department of Homeland Security, Fortune 100 companies such as AT&T, Boeing, Ford, Merck, and Xerox PARC, and universities such as MIT and Carnegie Mellon. With cumulative revenues in excess of $350 million, and the spinout of four technology companies, Sarcos engineers have a proven track record of creating and commercializing relevant technologies with practical applications. Examples of products developed by the Sarcos team include:
- The exoskeletal Iron Man-like robotic suit, XOS-2, named as one of The 50 Best Inventions by Time Magazine
- Tele-operated and autonomous robots such as the Dextrous® Arm and the advanced snake robot tested by the U.S. Navy
- Humanoid and playback robots such as robotic dinosaurs for Universal Studios’ Jurassic Park ride, more than 90 humanoid robots for Disney theme parks, as well as Las Vegas’ Bellagio Hotel's moving fountains, the largest robotic system ever built
- The first “wearable” personal status monitor system developed for the battlefield
- A new class of micro-machined guidewire and micro-catheters for interventional medical procedures (acquired by Boston Scientific)
- Virtual reality training, gaming and fitness systems such as the Sarcos Treadport®
“I’ve known the Sarcos team for several years and have greatly admired their ability to develop state-of-the-art solutions to complex problems that have vexed some of the greatest minds in science and engineering,” said Sarcos Chairman Wolff. “We now have a tremendous opportunity to bring to market products that will greatly enhance health, safety and efficiencies in some of today’s most relevant and exciting technology sectors.”
The Sarcos team is one of the most experienced robotics teams in the world, with team members having an average tenure working together in excess of 20 years, while Smith has been with Sarcos and its predecessors for more than 25 years. Wolff has held leadership positions with technology and telecommunications companies, including co-founding and serving as CEO of Clearwire Corporation, which was sold to Sprint for approximately $14 billion. More recently, he served as chairman and CEO of Pendrell Corporation.