Sarcos Technology and Robotics Corp. and VideoRay LLC yesterday announced that they have signed an agreement to offer integrated underwater systems. They will combine VideoRay's remotely operated vehicles, or ROVs, with the Sarcos Guardian Sea Class system, which includes its power-efficient dexterous robotic arms.
Under the terms of the agreement, Sarcos and VideoRay will each be able to sell an integrated underwater system, as well as their respective individual products. They will also provide replacement parts and repair services and support.
“This collaboration is significant for the industry, as it will enable Sarcos and VideoRay customers to easily purchase a pre-integrated system combining VideoRay’s best-in-class remotely operated vehicles with our advanced one- or two-armed Sea Class system,” stated Kiva Allgood, president and CEO of Sarcos.
“Through this relationship, we aim to make it easy for customers to acquire and deploy complete underwater systems, and we look forward to continuing working closely with VideoRay moving forward,” she said.
Sarcos Guardian Sea Class reduces weight
Salt Lake City-based Sarcos said it “designs, develops, and manufactures a broad range of advanced mobile robotic systems that redefine human possibilities and are designed to enable the safest most productive workforce in the world.”
The company's robots can operate in challenging, unstructured, industrial environments, and they include teleoperated systems, a powered exoskeleton, and software to enable task autonomy.
The Guardian Sea Class system can include one or two arms with six degrees of freedom each. It can perform in depths of up to 1 km (0.6 mi.) for up to two hours at a time, and it can be teleoperated or operated via supervised autonomy, said Sarcos.
Because the system is electronically driven, it eliminates the added weight, size, and expense of hydraulic power unit systems, the company claimed. This lowers maintenance costs and reduces the risk of system downtime due to failure, it added.
Sarcos noted that the Guardian Sea Class robotic system has a modular design that will easily integrate with VideoRay’s lineup of one-person portable ROVs.
VideoRay delivers rugged ROVs
VideoRay said its products deliver power and maneuverability, enabling operations in currents up to four knots. In August 2022, the Pottstown, Pa.-based company announced that the U.S. Navy had standardized on the use of the VideoRay Defender system and had placed a large order for the ROV because of its superior capabilities, flexibility and upgradability.
“VideoRay has designed our remotely operated vehicles to perform critical jobs in the harshest environments,” said Chris Gibson, CEO of VideoRay. “Our ROVs are a natural fit with the Guardian Sea Class system and, when combined, we believe that the packaged solution offers the most advanced underwater inspection capability on the market today.”
VideoRay yesterday also announced a $16.1 million order from the U.S. Navy for Mission Specialist Defender ROVs and related components for its Maritime Expeditionary Standoff Response progrm.
Delivering its first ROV system in 2000, VideoRay now has annual revenue exceeding $30 million and said it is “the world's leading manufacturer of underwater robotic systems” in the “inspection class” category.
The company said its Mission Specialist Systems are rugged enough to be used around the world in demanding underwater missions to support national security, first responders, object search and recovery, infrastructure examination, and science and research.
Article topics
Email Sign Up
Related Underwater News
Related Companies
Related Resources
