Kairos Autonomi's RetroReach Manipulator Arm
Mobile platform will enable delivery of dexterous manipulators to remote or inaccessible areas to perform human tasks
Kairos Autonomi, a world leader in robotic appliqué kits, will apply its successful business model to another Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Robotics Challenge (DRC) by developing a mobile humanoid robot that can perform human-like tasks.
“We believe the only goal for any DARPA challenge participant is to develop and market viable products, and we will bring this same altered thinking to our approach for the DARPA Robotics Challenge,” said Troy Takach, President and CEO of Kairos Autonomi.
“Kairos was one of a very small number of participants to bring a product to market out of the DARPA Grand and Urban Challenges.”
Having delivered more robotic appliqué kits for full-size ground vehicles than any other company on Earth, Kairos has begun development of a platform that can assist in disaster response scenarios using strength, endurance, visual sensing, decision making and selfcontrol through supervised autonomy. The platform will incorporate technologies from the Pronto4 Robotic Appliqué Kit. The primary motor drivers will be LADD actuators pioneered in Utah. Other components will include third-party dexterous manipulators, cameras, lidar, battery power and other sensors.
Kairos has assembled a team for this effort and will be responsible for all of the hardware, firmware and data serving aspects. It plans to work with Autonomous Solutions, Inc., for advanced perception, and other third parties that specialize in dexterous manipulators.
