Sarcos Technology and Robotics (now Palladyne AI)

Sarcos Technology and Robotics was founded in 1983 in Salt Lake City and for decades was associated with exoskeletons. Its best-known product was the Guardian XO, a load-lifting exoskeleton presented in January 2020. In 2024–2025 the company underwent a full rebrand to Palladyne AI, listed on NASDAQ under the symbol PDYN, and moved away entirely from exoskeleton and humanoid hardware. Today it develops artificial-intelligence software for defence and industrial robots and drone swarms. The sarcos.com domain redirects to palladyneai.com, and the manufacturer's site no longer carries a hardware offer tied to the Guardian XO. For the reader this means the Sarcos brand as a maker of physical robots has practically ceased to exist, and its history now has mainly documentary value. We have no confirmed data on current headcount or on revenue from the software side. It is an example of how quickly a robotics company can change profile when the hardware market falls short of expectations. We write more about this class of devices in “Exoskeletons in Rehabilitation and Industry”, and about the category itself in exoskeletons.

The only Sarcos product in our roundup is the Sarcos Guardian XO, an exoskeleton weighing 113 kg with 24 degrees of freedom (DOF). It assisted in lifting loads of up to 90.7 kg, and the intended users were industry, logistics and the military. Its status is withdrawn: production ended after the company's rebrand to Palladyne AI, and the offer is no longer shown on the manufacturer's site. The available sources give no price or runtime, so we give none. Palladyne AI's current portfolio is software, not hardware, and therefore does not enter our robot listings. If you are looking for physical-work assistance you can actually buy, see the overview in the exoskeletons category and the factory discussion. How to judge the specification of such equipment is covered in “How to Read a Robot Datasheet”, and degrees of freedom in “Degrees of Freedom (DOF) in Humanoid Robots”. The withdrawal of the Guardian XO also shows that even a well-known brand does not always maintain a hardware offer; when buying an exoskeleton it is worth checking whether the manufacturer provides service and parts for the whole period of use. We have no confirmation of the withdrawn product's availability on the second-hand market.

Sarcos no longer appears in the hardware market, so its position has to be described historically. In exoskeletons the active rivals are Ekso Bionics, German Bionic Systems, Ottobock SE & Co. KGaA, US Bionics / SuitX and Cyberdyne, and in rehabilitation also Wandercraft and Lifeward. The Guardian XO stood out for its large 90.7 kg payload; its mass was 113 kg. Today Palladyne AI competes in robot software, not exoskeletons. We have no data on market share or financial results, so we do not assess the company's strength. An overview of this market is in “Exoskeletons in Rehabilitation and Industry”. For users who owned a Guardian XO the change of profile means a risk of lost support; available sources, however, say nothing on how Palladyne AI handles such equipment. For new buyers the Sarcos story is a warning to verify before purchase that the company still develops the product in question. For the record, the company's history runs from 1983.

The Guardian XO was not available in Poland, and after its withdrawal there is no physical product left to distribute. Among Polish firms is, for example, EGZOTech from Gliwice, a maker of EMG-controlled rehabilitation robots; that is a different class of device from the Guardian XO. A general discussion of when an exoskeleton makes sense at work is in “Exoskeletons in Rehabilitation and Industry”. For a plant looking for lifting assistance it will make more sense to check offers in the exoskeletons category and consult a local occupational-safety adviser, since that person's assessment decides whether equipment is approved for work.

Sarcos as a robot maker no longer exists: the former Guardian XO is today only a historical curiosity. Polish readers have nothing to buy here, and if they want an exoskeleton they should check the active makers in the exoskeletons category. The Sarcos example teaches that before choosing equipment you should check whether its maker still develops it. A historical entry, with no purchasing value for the reader but with a lesson for equipment buyers. For a Polish buyer it is a closed chapter.