🌐 Kinova

About Kinova

Kinova was founded in 2006 in Boisbriand, Quebec, initially developing assistive robotic arms to help people with upper limb disabilities. That assistive origin shaped the company's design philosophy: lightweight, safe, and highly configurable arms that can be mounted on wheelchairs, mobile bases, or research platforms. Kinova has since expanded into research and industrial cobots while maintaining a strong assistive robotics division.

The Gen3 arm is Kinova's flagship research and light industrial product, a 7-DoF collaborative arm available in two reach configurations with integrated vision and force-torque sensing options. The JACO arm remains one of the most widely used powered wheelchair-mounted robotic arms in the world, with tens of thousands of units deployed to assist people with conditions including muscular dystrophy, spinal cord injury, and ALS. Kinova also produces the Kortex API, an open SDK that has attracted a developer community across research, medical, and industrial applications.

Kinova is employee-owned and has grown steadily without major venture capital rounds, which has kept its product development focused on practical utility rather than speculative capability.

Key Products

• Gen3 (6 and 7 DoF): Research and light industrial cobot; up to 4 kg payload, ROS2 compatible, integrated force sensing
• JACO: Assistive wheelchair-mounted arm; 6-DoF, designed for activities of daily living
• Kortex API: Open software development kit for all Kinova platforms

UK Market Presence

Kinova sells in the UK through authorised distributors and directly to institutions. The NHS and UK disability charities have deployed JACO arms through assistive technology funding programmes. UK universities use Gen3 widely in manipulation research. Pricing for Gen3 starts at approximately £25,000 to £35,000 depending on configuration. UK support and repair services are available through Kinova's European network.

Buying Used Kinova Equipment

Used Gen3 and JACO arms appear through university disposals and occasionally through assistive technology resellers. Gen3 units typically sell for £10,000 to £20,000 used. JACO units decommissioned from assistive use are less common but do appear; buyers should verify joint calibration and check for wear in the finger mechanisms. Kinova's Kortex software is freely available and actively maintained, so software continuity is not a concern on used hardware.