Sarcos Guardian XO

What it's for

The Guardian XO is an exoskeleton you wear like a suit of armor, with the machine taking the load. According to the manufacturer, it let a wearer lift up to 90.7 kg (200 lb); the unit itself weighs 113 kg, and its electric drive ran on swappable lithium-ion batteries. The design has 24 degrees of freedom and moves at up to 1.33 m/s.

The uses in the product data are the warehouse (warehouses), where the load rests on the frame while the human directs the movement, the assembly hall (factories) for mounting heavy tools and components, and logistics; military use also appears in the data.

One important caveat: the Guardian XO is listed as discontinued. The line ended after the company moved into AI software under the Palladyne AI brand. So this is a lesson in what an exoskeleton is actually for and why it is a hard business, not a buying offer. For how the category looks today, see “Exoskeletons in Rehabilitation and Industry”. The concept of degrees of freedom is explained in “Degrees of Freedom (DOF) in Humanoid Robots”.

Who it's for

Because the product is discontinued, "who is it for" only applies to the idea. An active exoskeleton in this class made sense for large plants with heavy, repetitive lifting that could afford a leasing model. It was available only as Robot-as-a-Service, with no public purchase price.

Not for small companies, not for rehabilitation (devices such as EksoNR exist for that), and not for anyone looking for lightweight, passive back support. Not for anyone in Poland either: our material does not confirm availability in the country.

Deployments

We know of no Guardian XO deployments in Poland. There are no named Guardian XO installations on record, and the product is discontinued. In the exoskeleton category, confirmed clinical use belongs to rehabilitation devices, described in “Exoskeletons in Rehabilitation and Industry”, including Eve and EksoNR.

HAL is an exoskeleton from Cyberdyne that assists movement and is used in rehabilitation, among other settings; a different purpose, but the same family of devices.

EksoNR is a rehabilitation exoskeleton from Ekso Bionics, used in clinics.

Eve is an exoskeleton from Wandercraft that enables people with mobility limitations to walk.

ReWalk Personal is a personal exoskeleton for walking after spinal cord injuries.

If you are looking for support for manual workers, also check the makers of lightweight exoskeletons in exoskeletons, for example German Bionic Systems.

The Guardian XO was unveiled in January 2020. Behind the product was Sarcos Technology and Robotics of Salt Lake City, founded in 1983, now operating as Palladyne AI (NASDAQ: PDYN) and focused exclusively on software. After that change of direction, the exoskeleton line was withdrawn. It is a telling example of how hard it is to build a lasting business out of expensive body-worn hardware.