About Barrett®

Barrett’s Uniqueness

Barrett’s divisions—Barrett Medical and Barrett Drive Systems—form a uniquely symbiotic linkage in robotics. At the core of each is a philosophy shaped by decades of designing machines capable of interacting safely, intuitively, precisely, transparently with people.

That philosophy first took form in the pioneering WAM® robotic arm (Whole Arm Manipulator), a human-centric robot designed to move with near-zero friction, incredible backdrivability, and unprecedented responsiveness. The WAM® was widely recognized for redefining how robots could interact with humans and was credited in the Millennium Edition of the Guinness World Records as the “most advanced robotic arm”, specifically for its ability to interact seamlessly with people. This recognition was not about precision or control of forces alone, but about behavior—how a robot feels when a person touches it or works alongside it.

A key enabler of that behavior is the Puck®, Barrett’s compact, embedded motor controller. By integrating high-performance control, sensing, and communication directly at each motor, the Puck® eliminates layers of external electronics, wiring, and complexity. Intelligence moves closer to motion, enabling transparency, bandwidth, and reliability that conventional architectures cannot match. The WAM® was both a proving ground for the Puck® and a beneficiary of its capabilities, shaping its evolution through real human-robot interaction.

Burt® later emerged as a continuation of this lineage—a full robotic system that embodies the lessons learned from the WAM® arm and the capabilities unlocked by Puck®. Burt® demonstrates how motor-level intelligence, when paired with thoughtful mechanical design, produces robots that are powerful yet compliant, precise yet forgiving. Burt® is not a departure from Barrett’s past; it is a refinement of it.

Barrett Drive Systems, famed for its ultra-advanced Puck® motor controller focuses on the fundamental robotic technology that makes this behavior possible—advanced actuation, embedded control, and system architectures that prioritize transparency and performance. Barrett Medical applies these same principles to an FDA-Regulated Class-II robotic device, where adaptability, safety, reliability, and human trust are essential. In medical settings, the ability to interact naturally with patients and clinicians is not a feature—it is the product.

What distinguishes Barrett is not any single component or robot, but the co-development of systems and subsystems. Puck®, WAM®, and Burt® evolved together, each informing the other. This feedback loop—between control and mechanics, between human interaction and engineering rigor—continues to guide both Barrett Technology and Barrett Medical today.

Barrett builds robotics that behave as integrated systems, designed from the ground up to work with people, not around them.