Barrett Technology, LLC

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Barrett Technology, LLC

Barrett Technology is the leader in advanced robotic manipulators and medical robotics.

As a fresh spin-off from the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1990, Barrett tasked itself with the stewardship of the first haptic robot arm, named the WAM™ arm. This manipulator embodies Transparent Dynamics™ drives that fundamentally break from the conventional design of robotic manipulators. With a market yet to exist for haptic devices, Barrett diligently honed the technology during the 1990s with grants from DoE, NASA, and NSF, as well as sales to key advanced-robotics laboratories all over the world. Since 1990, Barrett Technology has pioneered core technology underlying new levels of flexibility in articulated arms and hands. Today, Barrett is the leader in advanced robotic manipulators,
earning a place in the Guinness Book of World Records for its advanced manipulator technology. Barrett provides an unmatched degree of versatility to support the broadest array of applications.

08/28/2025

Want to run a P4-16 or P4-37?

Take a look at our Quick Start Software...

Step 1: Mount the Puck on your motor
Step 2: Plug into the Dev Board with a 24V adapter
Step 3: Connect the CAN adapter to your computer
Step 4: Launch the Puck Utility App and scan for nodes
Step 5: Calibrate and start testing

In just a few minutes, you'll be mounted, powered, and spinning motors in your lab. You can explore torque, velocity, and position -- all without breaking a sweat (literally!).

We built this Dev Kit so engineers could push the Puck to its limits without weeks of wiring.

Our Quick Start Manual makes that process even faster.

Check it out athttps://web.barrett.com/support/Puck_Documentation/P4-Dev-Kit-Quick-Start-Manual-RevAD.pdf

$The Puck® motor controller is a fraction of the size of its competitors — yet it holds its own in every way that counts....$

08/27/2025

The Puck® motor controller is a fraction of the size of its competitors — yet it holds its own in every way that counts.

• P4-16 → 16mm diameter, 2 grams, 250W peak drive power.
• P4-37 → 37mm diameter, 16 grams, 1.75kW peak drive power.

Competitors take up 2–3x more space to deliver similar performance.

That extra bulk means more heat, more wiring, and more headaches.

Puck changes the equation: It’s not just smaller. It’s smarter, smoother, and built for mobile robotic systems where every millimeter matters.

👉 That’s why we build the Puck in-house: staying compact 𝘢𝘯𝘥 competitive.

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P.S. save this post to refer back to our competitor comparison or send it to a friend!

08/26/2025

The Puck® started as a necessity.

Back when we were building early versions of the WAM® Arm, the motor controllers on the market were too big, too hot, and too complex to integrate. We needed something that could sit flush on the back of a motor and just work.

So Barrett engineers built the first Puck.
• Small enough to tuck in anywhere
• Quiet enough to skip fans
• Smart enough to run advanced commutation

Over the years, we’ve refined it — from the first prototypes to today’s P4 series. Each generation learned from thousands of hours in our robots, working through commutation questions, heat dispersion, and eventually finding the smallest version of every single component to make the P4-16.

That’s why the Puck doesn’t feel like a lab experiment -- it's a tool built from experience.

08/22/2025

Here’s how to explain the Puck to your PM or exec — no datasheet required.

Think of it like this:
• The P4-16 is about the size of a dime, but it can drive a quarter-kilowatt.
• Instead of messy wiring, it daisy-chains up to 31 units on one bus.
• It has its own encoder, so you don’t lose signal quality over long cables.

In short: 𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲, 𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗳𝗲𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀 — and more power where you need it. If you need even more power -- we've even got a P4-37.

That’s why R&D engineers test it first. And that’s why decision-makers listen when those engineers say: we need to spec this in.

Buy Pucks and Dev Kits at the link below!
https://barrett.com/store

08/20/2025

The Puck® Dev Kit is built for one thing: letting engineers push limits.

Mount the P4-16 on your motor, connect through the Dev Kit, and you can:

• Stress test torque and velocity
• Try different commutation setups
• Daisy chain multiple controllers on a single bus
• See how 2 grams and 250W actually behave in your own lab

Some customers use it for compact actuators. Others for high-speed research. A few just want to see how far a 16mm controller can really go.

The Dev Kit is your sandbox for proving the Puck belongs in your BOM.

Learn more here: https://barrett.com/store

08/19/2025

When we first looked for a motor controller small enough to disappear behind a motor, nothing fit.
Too bulky. Too noisy. Too many wires.

So we built our own.

The Puck® isn’t an off-the-shelf part we resell — it’s the controller we needed for our own robots. Compact, quiet, and smart enough to run complex commutation without the fan noise or board sprawl.

That’s why it’s different: engineers designed it for engineers.

And with the Dev Kit, you don’t have to take our word for it — you can wire it up, push it, and see if it belongs in your design.

Learn more here: https://barrett.com/store

08/12/2025

It's small enough to fit in your pocket.

But powerful enough to drive your most ambitious robot.

Delivering up to 250W of precise motor control, the Barrett Puck® P4-16 is our most compact, most capable motor controller yet — engineered for space-limited robotics applications where every gram, every millimeter, and every microsecond of response matters.

Inside the P4-16, you’ll find:
• Input voltage: 12–50V DC
• Continuous drive current: 2.5A (5A peak)
• Operating temperature: –25°C to 100°C
• Absolute encoder: 12-bit resolution, onboard
• Bus topology: Up to 31 controllers per bus

• Size: 16mm OD × 6mm height
• Mass: 2g

At 2g and 16mm OD, it's not just small, it's silent, and daisy chain compatible.

📄 Explore the full technical breakdown — including pinouts, connector specs, and integration guidelines — in the official datasheet here:
👉 P4-16™ Datasheet (PDF):https://web.barrett.com/support/Puck_Documentation/P4-16_Datasheet_2024.pdf

𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘭.

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If you’re building in medical, aerospace, research, or high-precision robotics, the P4-16 is ready to fit where other controllers can’t.

📧 Contact us: sales@barrett.com
📞 Call: (617) 252-9000

05/20/2025

We’re here at ICRA 2025 in Atlanta—booth 123—and it’s been amazing to see what the robotics world is building right now.

Everywhere you look: humanoids, drones, surgical systems, bioinspired arms. The level of engineering on display is wild.

We’re here representing our Puck® motor controller—the same tech that powers Burt and many of the most precise robots out there.

Always exciting to be surrounded by others solving hard problems with world class designs.

Come find us if you’re around—booth 123. We’ve got a special 10% discount for those who stop by. Excited to talk robotics, rehab, or both.

04/30/2025

We’re at the Boston Robotics Conference today and tomorrow—find us at Booth 730.

We’re showcasing our latest Puck® motor controllers (as small as a penny!) and offering a special discount on our development kits for the first 10 buyers who stop by the booth.

Whether you’re building collaborative robots, medical devices, automation systems, or anything in between—come check out the tech that’s powering next-gen motion.

See you soon!

04/17/2025

We’re excited to share that a Burt® system is now live at the world-renowned Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center.

Rancho has a long-standing reputation for leadership in neurological rehabilitation, and it means a lot to have Burt® now supporting their mission. Our team recently spent two full days on-site training five of their occupational therapists on how to use Burt® in their clinic. We covered everything from game modes and treatment setups to real-world patient application.

A big thank you to Guy Brown for organizing the visit and to the entire Rancho OT team for their enthusiasm. We’re looking forward to seeing how Burt® gets integrated into their already incredible care.

Here are a few photos from the install and training sessions (including a couple from their team!).

Want to learn more about how Burt® is being used in neurorehab? Visit us at barrett.com/burt or reach out any time.

03/28/2025

Marketing is a huge part of what we do at Barrett -- and we're incredibly proud to have our amazing team of engineers supporting that mission.

On Tuesday, we had a very productive day of content creation: energy was high in the office with drones flying about the building, videographers around every corner, and even a few sparks flying.

Here's a few stills from behind the scenes -- stay tuned for more videos coming up in the next few weeks.

03/18/2025

Burt offers three progressive modes: Burt Assist -> PatientMax -> BurtResist.

But what's PatientMax? And how does it work?

In PatientMax mode, your patient is doing their MAXimum work. Think of this as Active Range of Motion (AROM)

Burt may be providing arm weight compensation (countering the effects of gravity on the patient's arm) , but the patient is still using their own strength and AROM to move through the necessary patterns to complete the activity.

The amount of arm weight compensation is fully customizable based on patient need and can be modified “on the fly” while using Burt’s remote during any activity. Because Burt is a cable driven end effector robot, all movement feels fluid and natural to the patient.

Remember that Burt can be utilized during any stage of recovery. In the Burt recovery sequence, a patient will typically graduate from BurtAssist mode into PatientMax mode as they gain more strength and movement. That improvement can be tracked on many of the same activities in each method..

PatientMax is designed to let your patients push their own limits safely and effectively.

As you develop your patient's independence, make use of PatientMax to build their strength and endurance before moving up to Burt Resist mode.

Address

320 Nevada Street, Ground Floor, Building Rear
Newton, MA
02460

Website

http://www.barrett.com/

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