Raytheon Buys Sarcos Unit

Raytheon Co. announced this week it has acquired the robotics technologies and capabilities of Sarcos Inc., a Salt Lake City, Utah, developer of microelectromechanical systems technology. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

"With Sarcos, we are gaining world-renowned research and development capabilities in robotics technology, providing us with new capabilities to expand our position in this developing growth area," said Dan Smith, president of Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems.

Sarcos products include advanced robotic systems for industry and entertainment, and medical devices such as artificial limbs and vascular systems. It was founded by S.C. Jacobsen in 1983 to conduct focused development projects in collaboration with the Center for Engineering Design at the University of Utah. According to its Web site, Sarcos has also developed "telerobotic manipulators," which enable a human operator "to achieve dexterous manipulation" in remote or hazardous environments. These systems are based on proprietary actuation, sensor and control technologies developed by Sarcos and the center.

Sarcos has also developed individual portals, IPORTs -- human-computer interfaces (HCIs) that enable a person to be visually and mechanically immersed in a computer-generated synthetic environment.

For more information, visit: www.raytheon.com