DEPLOYDatabase

Robot model

Ottava

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ; founded 1886, New Brunswick, New Jersey), through its MedTech and Ethicon division, is developing Ottava, a soft-tissue…

Track Ottava
Manufacturer
Johnson & Johnson
Form factor
surgical
Maturity
pilot
Lifecycle
active
Deployments
1

Overview

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ; founded 1886, New Brunswick, New Jersey), through its MedTech and Ethicon division, is developing Ottava, a soft-tissue general-surgery robotic platform with a unified architecture of four arms integrated into the operating table, announced in 2020 and repeatedly delayed. The critical audit finding is that as of mid-2026 Ottava is pre-market: J&J submitted it to the FDA via a De Novo classification application on January 7, 2026 for multiple upper-abdomen general-surgery procedures, and the company's own language states it is under development and not authorized to be marketed or sold in any market. Investigational first cases were completed in early 2025 at Memorial Hermann in the Texas Medical Center, with a second investigational study for inguinal hernia approved in late 2025. The registry records Ottava at research maturity, because under the verified-vs-claimed framework no regulatory clearance means research-tier regardless of corporate scale or demonstrations, and Ottava has no clearance and zero installed base, only investigational-trial cases. An aggregator claim that Ottava was targeted for commercial launch in late 2025 or early 2026 is contradicted by the primary J&J source and is not registered. For context, J&J's separate Monarch robotic bronchoscopy, acquired through Auris in 2019, and its Velys robotic knee-replacement system are already FDA-cleared commercial products, but Ottava is the soft-tissue surgical-robot entity and remains pre-market.

Verified vs. claimed

Maturity stage
pilot(Small-scale deployment in controlled or trial conditions.)
Verified deployments
1 deployment on file
Sources on file
3 sources, view all

Key facts

Form factor

Surgical robot with four arms integrated into the operating table

Autonomy level

Research-tier (pre-market, no FDA clearance, zero installed base)

Production target

FDA De Novo classification application submitted January 7, 2026 for multiple upper-abdomen general-surgery procedures

Announcement year

2020

Investigational cases

IDE first cases completed early 2025 at Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center; second IDE for inguinal hernia approved late 2025

Specs

Arms

four

Notes

Verified (pre-market): Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ; founded 1886, New Brunswick NJ; MedTech/Ethicon division) submitted Ottava to the FDA via a De Novo classification application on Jan 7 2026 for multiple upper-abdomen general-surgery procedures. J&J's own language: Ottava 'is under development and is not authorized to be marketed or sold in any market.' IDE first cases completed early 2025 at Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center; a second IDE (inguinal hernia) approved late 2025., Maturity = research (FDA gating not cleared): Per the framework, NO clearance = research-tier regardless of corporate scale or demos. Ottava has an active IDE and a pending De Novo submission but no clearance and ZERO installed base / zero approved procedures (IDE-trial cases only)., Aggregator-drift correction: A secondary source claimed Ottava was 'targeted for commercial launch late 2025 / early 2026.' CONTRADICTED by the primary J&J source (De Novo submitted Jan 7 2026; explicitly not marketable). Do NOT register a launch date. 'Breakthrough device designation' (secondary) is unverified against primary records., Adjacent J&J robotics (context, not this entity): Monarch (robotic bronchoscopy, via the 2019 $3.4B Auris acquisition; FDA-cleared; competes with Intuitive Ion) and Velys (robotic knee replacement, FDA-cleared Mar 2021) are separate commercial J&J robotics products.

Products

Ottava: J&J MedTech (Ethicon) soft-tissue general-surgery robotic platform, four arms integrated into the operating table; announced 2020. NOT cleared, NOT marketed.

Form Factor

surgical (unified-architecture four-arm soft-tissue general-surgery robot; arms integrated into the table)

Fda clearance

not cleared

Procedure types

multiple upper-abdomen general-surgery procedures

Data & sources

Press releases

1

News coverage

1

Web sources

1

3 sources backing this record.View all →

Availability and pricing

Availability
Not sold (internal use)
Price
Not publicly disclosed
Units in field
Not disclosed
Sales model
Not disclosed
Lead time
Not disclosed

Pricing

No verified price is on record for Ottava. Physical-AI systems are often sold through enterprise contracts or operated as a service rather than at a public list price.

How DEPLOY tracks pricing

Deployments (1)

Ottava on the deployment map

Where Ottava is verified operating. Explore the deployment map by place and type.

Recent activity

Every change to this record is dated, sourced, and independently verified where marked.

Full change history →

Deployment-verified media (1)

PRIMARY SOURCE
Courtesy of Johnson & Johnson

Johnson & Johnson MedTech's surgical-robotics brand film, which features its Ottava soft-tissue surgical robot (no Ottava-specific video exists on the official channel). A surgeon-teleoperated system, not autonomous.

From deployment: United States

Safety record

No incidents on record for Ottava.

Only active incidents are counted. Retracted incidents are excluded from this summary but remain reachable at their canonical URLs.

Sources (3)

  1. https://www.jnj.com/media-center/press-releases/johnson-johnson-submits-ottava-robotic-surgical-system-to-the-u-s-food-and-drug-administration
  2. https://www.medtechdive.com/news/jnj-layoffs-auris-california-robotic/644544/
  3. https://www.fiercebiotech.com/medtech/jj-to-take-over-verb-surgical-its-robotics-venture-verily

Compare Ottava

Common questions

What is Ottava?
Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ; founded 1886, New Brunswick, New Jersey), through its MedTech and Ethicon division, is developing Ottava, a soft-tissue general-surgery robotic platform with a unified architecture of four arms integrated into the operating table, announced in 2020 and repeatedly delayed. The critical audit finding is that as of mid-2026 Ottava is pre-market: J&J submitted it to the FDA via a De Novo classification application on January 7, 2026 for multiple upper-abdomen general-surgery procedures, and the company's own language states it is under development and not authorized to be marketed or sold in any market. Investigational first cases were completed in early 2025 at Memorial Hermann in the Texas Medical Center, with a second investigational study for inguinal hernia approved in late 2025. The registry records Ottava at research maturity, because under the verified-vs-claimed framework no regulatory clearance means research-tier regardless of corporate scale or demonstrations, and Ottava has no clearance and zero installed base, only investigational-trial cases. An aggregator claim that Ottava was targeted for commercial launch in late 2025 or early 2026 is contradicted by the primary J&J source and is not registered. For context, J&J's separate Monarch robotic bronchoscopy, acquired through Auris in 2019, and its Velys robotic knee-replacement system are already FDA-cleared commercial products, but Ottava is the soft-tissue surgical-robot entity and remains pre-market.
How much does Ottava cost?
Ottava's price is not publicly disclosed. DEPLOY has no verified price on record for Ottava from Johnson & Johnson. Physical-AI systems like this are often sold through enterprise contracts or operated as a service rather than at a public list price; check the manufacturer for the latest.
Is Ottava actually deployed in the real world?
Yes. Ottava is independently verified in real-world operation on the DEPLOY registry, confirmed at named deployment sites with primary sources: not a concept, render, or demo-only.
Who makes Ottava?
Ottava is made by Johnson & Johnson, based in New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA, founded in 1886.
Where is Ottava deployed?
1 verified deployment of Ottava is on the DEPLOY registry, including at United States.
Methodology: Verified · 3 sources (1 primary) · last reviewed 2026-07-12

Verification posture

Verified

High confidence

Review state

Stable

Last reviewed 2026-07-12

Maturity + lifecycle

Maturity stage: pilot

Lifecycle: active

Architectural position

Cohort: surgical

Sources by quality tier

1
primary-company-ir
Company IR disclosure
1
secondary-trade-publication
Trade publication
1
unclassified
Unclassified source

The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.

Methodology surface for Ottava.

Recent coverage

Ottava in third-party press

DePuy Synthes Appoints Andrew Burton as Global Head of Robotics - hrtoday.in

Jun 27, 2026

J&J submits FDA de novo request for Ottava robot in general surgery

Jun 17, 2026

J&J’s DePuy Synthes has a new head of robotics platforms - MassDevice

Jun 12, 2026