# Ottava

Manufacturer: [Johnson & Johnson](/companies/johnson-and-johnson)  
Category: surgical

## Summary

J&J MedTech's Ottava is a soft-tissue general-surgery robotic platform with four arms integrated into the operating table, announced in 2020. It is pre-market: J&J submitted a De Novo request to the FDA in January 2026, and Ottava is not authorized to be marketed. DEPLOY classifies it research tier: J&J's corporate scale does not translate into verified surgical-robotics deployment, because the gating event (FDA clearance) has not occurred. By the framework, Ottava sits at the same research tier as far smaller pre-market entrants. There is no price; it is not sold.

## Top line

> Ottava is internal use only (not for retail), no capability claims are on file, the model has no verified field deployments in the registry, and no incidents are on record.

## Readiness

- **Availability** (internal-only): Internal use only (not for retail).
- **Price honesty** (no-price): No price points on file for Ottava.
- **Capability honesty** (no-claims): No reviewed capability claims on file for Ottava.
- **Real-world use** (research): Maturity: research. No verified deployments in the registry.
- **Safety record** (no-incidents): No incidents on record. No verified deployments either.

## What it claims to do

_No reviewed capability claims on file._

## Price

_No reviewed price points on file._

## Real-world use

_No verified deployments on file for Ottava._

## Safety record

_No incidents on record. No verified deployments either, so the absence is uninformative._

## Privacy

_No privacy practices disclosed or on file for Ottava._

## Specs

- **notes**: [{"label":"Verified (pre-market)","value":"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."},{"label":"Maturity = research (FDA gating not cleared)","value":"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)."},{"label":"Aggregator-drift correction","value":"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."},{"label":"Adjacent J&J robotics (context, not this entity)","value":"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.
- **formFactor**: surgical (unified-architecture four-arm soft-tissue general-surgery robot; arms integrated into the table)

## What's under the hood

_No brain on file for Ottava._

## Frequently asked questions

### Is the Ottava actually available for purchase?

Not available to consumers. In internal use by Johnson & Johnson.

_Source: [J&J submits Ottava to FDA (De Novo, Jan 7 2026; 'not authorized to be marketed')](https://www.jnj.com/media-center/press-releases/johnson-johnson-submits-ottava-robotic-surgical-system-to-the-u-s-food-and-drug-administration)._

### What does the Ottava cost?

Not announced.

### Where is the Ottava being used?

No verified field deployments on record.

### Is the Ottava safe?

No incidents on record, but with no verified field deployments either, the absence is uninformative.

### How does the Ottava handle privacy?

No privacy practices disclosed or on file for Ottava.

### Who makes the Ottava?

Ottava is made by Johnson & Johnson, based in New Brunswick, New Jersey, USA.

_Source: [J&J submits Ottava to FDA (De Novo, Jan 7 2026; 'not authorized to be marketed')](https://www.jnj.com/media-center/press-releases/johnson-johnson-submits-ottava-robotic-surgical-system-to-the-u-s-food-and-drug-administration)._

## Manufacturer

- [Johnson & Johnson (https://www.jnj.com/media-center/press-releases/johnson-johnson-submits-ottava-robotic-surgical-system-to-the-u-s-food-and-drug-administration)](https://www.jnj.com/media-center/press-releases/johnson-johnson-submits-ottava-robotic-surgical-system-to-the-u-s-food-and-drug-administration)

## Compared to

- [Hugo RAS](/consumer/models/medtronic-hugo)
- [da Vinci (and Ion)](/consumer/models/intuitive-da-vinci)

## Sources

1. [J&J submits Ottava to FDA (De Novo, Jan 7 2026; 'not authorized to be marketed')](https://www.jnj.com/media-center/press-releases/johnson-johnson-submits-ottava-robotic-surgical-system-to-the-u-s-food-and-drug-administration)
2. [J&J robotics layoffs + Ottava delays (history/context)](https://www.medtechdive.com/news/jnj-layoffs-auris-california-robotic/644544/)
3. [J&J takes over Verb Surgical (Ottava lineage)](https://www.fiercebiotech.com/medtech/jj-to-take-over-verb-surgical-its-robotics-venture-verily)

_Canonical: https://deploy.report/models/jnj-ottava_