Rethink Robotics · Industrial · 2015
Rethink Robotics' Sawyer (2015) was the more precise, single-arm successor to Baxter — a 7-DOF collaborative arm weighing just 19 kg with a 4 kg payload, 1,260 mm reach, and ±0.1 mm repeatability, designed to fit into work cells built for humans and reach where the larger dual-arm Baxter couldn't. Rethink redesigned its signature Series Elastic Actuators with a titanium spring and added Harmonic Drive servos and zero-backlash gearboxes, so Sawyer could 'feel' its way into fixtures and machines even when part positions varied slightly — the compliant-motion 'adaptive repeatability' that set Rethink apart. An embedded Cognex vision camera in the arm powers its Robot Positioning System for quick reorientation and redeployment, and it programs by zero-force hand guiding or the Intera 5 visual environment, on ROS with an open SDK. Certified ISO 10218-1 / PL d Cat. 3 for fenceless use and priced around US$29,000, Sawyer targeted machine tending, circuit-board testing and electronics assembly. Discontinued after Rethink ceased operations in 2018; the brand and Sawyer line were subsequently acquired and relaunched.
Price level: ★★☆☆☆
View full interactive profile, comparisons & videos →| Category | Industrial |
| Sub-type | Collaborative Robot (Cobot) |
| Status | Discontinued |
| Year | 2015 |
| Origin | USA |
| Announced | 2015 |
| Released | 2015 |
| Weight | 19 kg |
| Degrees of freedom | 7 |
| Payload | 4 kg |
| Reach | 1260 mm |
| Repeatability | ±0.1 mm |
| Camera | Embedded Cognex vision in arm — Robot Positioning System (RPS) for dynamic reorientation/redeployment |
| Operating system | Intera 5 on ROS |
| Actuator type | Series Elastic Actuators (titanium spring) + Harmonic Drive servos + zero-backlash gearboxes |
| Use cases | Machine tending, Circuit-board testing, Electronics assembly, Multi-point inspection, Packaging |
| Made in | USA (Boston, MA) |
