Guardian S

A black snake shaped robot crawls on a white surface. — A slithering robot. Photo: Sarcos Robotics

Guardian S is a versatile snake robot capable of traversing challenging terrain to inspect industrial facilities and hazardous environments. It can slither, roll over, and even slide its magnetized body straight up a metal door, sending data from its cameras and sensors back to a remote operator.

Creator

Sarcos

Year

2017

Country

United States 🇺🇸

Categories

Features

Overview of Guardian S and its capabilities. Video: Sarcos Robotics

Did you know?

In addition to snakebots, Sarcos is also developing Iron Man-style exoskeletons.

The snake robot is completely vertical as it moves up a wall. — Guardian S uses magnets to scale metal surfaces. Photo: Sarcos Robotics

History

Sarcos, based in Salt Lake City, Utah, developed the Guardian S as a versatile, customizable platform for applications in the realms of industry and security. At its most basic, the robot simply sends back audio and video from the cameras on all sides of its head. But customers can outfit the snakebot with custom and third-party sensors such as gas or vibration detectors. As an agile surveillance tool, the Guardian S can inspect small, confined spaces in factories and industrial settings. It can also help with hazmat situations, search and rescue after a disaster, and assist bomb squads and SWAT teams. Sarcos has been in the robotics business since the 1990s, and was previously owned by military contractor Raytheon before going independent and rounding up investment from GE, Caterpillar, Microsoft, and others.

A black snake-like robot climbs a set of stairs. — It can also climb stairs. Photo: Sarcos Robotics

A bright light shines from the robot, which is partially inside a dark pipe. — And travel inside pipes. Photo: Sarcos Robotics

Specs

Overview: Lightweight and easily hand-carried. Ruggedized, all-terrain design for indoor and outdoor operation. Able to traverse mud, gravel, water, unstructured terrain, and confined spaces previously considered inaccessible for inspection. Transmits two-way video, audio, and sensor data to remote operator. Customizable sensor packages, including infrared, gas, vibration, GPS, accelerometer, sound, HAZMAT, and EOD. Water protected and dust-proof (IP65 certified).
Status: Ongoing
Year: 2017
Website: sarcos.com/products/guardian-s-overview
Width: 12 cm
Height: 13.2 cm (default snake mode)
Length: 132 cm
Weight: 7.7 kg
Speed: 2.2 km/h
Sensors: Six 4k color cameras (front view, two side views, rear view, upward view, and forward-facing rear navigation) for 360-degree visual range. Built-in microphone, GPS, inertial measurement unit (IMU). Optional FLIR hi-res camera and other third-party sensors via payload platform with tripod mount adapter.
Compute: USB2 I/O port, Wi-Fi, optional RF Module (multiple ISM bands: 915 MHz, 2.4 GHz, 4.9 GHz & 5.75 GHz LTE).
Software: Custom OS and control software. Audio and video streams use 256-bit AES encryption.
Power: 147-Wh 14.4-V lithium-ion battery. Up to 12 hours of surveillance time or a 3-mile travel range.
Cost: $60,000 (Sarcos also offers a robot-as-service plan for a monthly fee.)