Formant builds remote operation tech for Kinova Gen 3 robot arm

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Formant, a developer of cloud platforms for robotics companies, partnered with Canadian robotics company Kinova, which is primarily known for building robotic arms. Formant built a feature to natively support remote operation for users of Kinova’s Gen 3 arm.

Kinova Gen 3 robot arm users can now access a browser-based application to operate the arm and ingest and monitor data. Formant said this includes the ability to record data generated by the arm, teleoperate, and remotely configure.

“Kinova continues to be a leader in industrial and medical robotics. As more and more companies adopt Kinova’s Gen3 arm, we’re excited to partner and have the opportunity to make the experience of operating the arm as smooth as possible for our users,” said Jeff Linnell, CEO of Formant. “Together, we hope to continue to bring the benefits of robotic arms to hospitals, warehouses, research centers, and more.”

The team looks forward to what this partnership holds for the future and to helping to further the adoption of Kinova robotic arms across industries.

“Formant and Kinova share the same vision and enthusiasm regarding the next age in robotics,” says François Boucher, VP of strategic growth at Kinova. “Moving from individual automated cells in a manufacturing facility towards distributed networks of robots in hospitals, farms, and other atypical environments for robots requires solutions that are flexible and scalable. Formant is definitely elevating the Gen3 robot in that regard, that’s the reason why we are so thrilled about this partnership.”

In October 2022, Formant released a freemium version of its software that enables individual users to upload live robot data to the cloud and control their robot in real-time. Initially released for ROS systems, Formant’s free tier will let engineers easily monitor ROS topics and key metrics from their devices out of the box.

Founded in 2006, Kinova raised $48 million in early 2022. In March, the company released its Link 6 collaborative robot arm. Kinova also recently signed a five-year contract extension with Auris Health to support Auris in the expansion of its Monarch Platform that is designed for robotic-assisted surgery.