Iván Hernández Dalas: Ghost Robotics releases manipulator arm for Vision 60 quadruped
Ghost Robotics’ Vision 60 Q-UGV is equipped with the company’s new arm. | Source: Ghost Robotics
Ghost Robotics today launched its new manipulator arm for its Vision 60 Quadruped Unmanned Ground Vehicle (Q-UGV). The company said the arm expands the Vision 60’s mission capabilities by adding precise, robust manipulation.
Designed as a lightweight, modular, top-mounted system, the manipulator arm enables the Vision 60 to perform complex tasks, such as opening doors, retrieving objects, handling equipment, and interacting with the environment. The arm’s six degrees of freedom (DoF) and fully backdrivable design provide smooth, force-sensitive control that mirrors the durability of the robot’s legs, Ghost said.
“At Ghost Robotics, our mission is to keep people out of harm’s way,” said Gavin Kenneally, Co-Founder and CEO of Ghost Robotics. “We already build legged robots for some of the world’s most demanding customers operating in the toughest environments. Now, those same robots can manipulate the world around them—giving first responders, warfighters, and inspectors a safer and more capable platform for hazardous or hard-to-reach missions.”
Ghost Robotics was founded in 2015. The Philadelphia-based company focuses exclusively on developing quadrupeds and accessories for its robots.
Technical details of the new manipulator arm
Key specifications of the arm include:
- Full Extension: 1 meter (3.3 ft)
- Mass: 10.6 kg (23.4 lbs.)
- Gripping Force: 11.3 kg (25 lbs.)
- Payload: 3.75 kg (8.3 lbs.) at 50 cm (19.7 in), continuous
- Operating Temperature: –40 to 55 °C (–40 to 131 °F)
- IP67 (dust-tight, submersible up to 1 meter)
“The arm is easy to install by customers in the field, it attaches with captive fasteners and included connectors,” Keneally told The Robot Report. “Unlike some of our competitors, the robot does not have to be shipped back to Ghost to install the arm.
The robot’s main battery powers the arm, which will slightly decrease the robot’s endurance depending on the use case, Keneally noted.
“The arm ships with a standard multi-purpose gripper that has been optimized for door opening and basic manipulation,” Keneally said. “However, one of the design pillars at Ghost is modularity, and so we have designed the grippers to be easy to swap if they get damaged in very rough use, or if Ghost develops new specialized grippers in the future (the same as the robot’s treads).”
The new arm opens the door for new capabilities
Ghost Robotics said its manipulator arm extends the Vision 60’s utility across defense, EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal), disaster response, inspection, manufacturing, and other industrial missions where remotely operated manipulation is essential.
“The Vision 60 is extremely capable in outdoor environments, but we had many customers who needed our robots to be able to navigate through doors, clear obstacles, and grab small objects,” Keneally said. “This is why we designed the arm as an integrated part of the Vision 60 robot—in the software, it shows up as a fifth leg. The biggest surprise was that customers were also interested in using the arm as a periscope to improve the vantage point of the robot and look around at human eye-level or around corners or other obstacles. Based on this feedback, we added more cameras to the arm’s end-effector.”
The Vision 60 is an all-weather, all-terrain quadruped. It features modular payloads, waterproof construction, and field-repairable architecture. The platform is extensible with mission-specific sensors, cameras, communication systems, and now the new manipulator arm. Ghost Robotics noted the Vision 60 is used by the U.S. Marine Corps, Army, Air Force, and commercial partners in energy, data centers, construction, and more.
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