Bota Systems partners with Kinova to add sense of touch to AI robotics

Kinova is offering its Gen3 robotic manipulator with the Bota Systems’ SensONE force-torque sensor. Source: Kinova

Advances in perception promise to advance machine learning and robotic manipulation. Kinova Inc. last week announced that it has partnered with Bota Systems AG to bridge the simulation-to-reality gap with multimodal interaction sensing and accelerate robot development.

“As artificial intelligence continues to transform industries, the underexplored modalities of force-torque data offer unprecedented opportunities for advancing robotic learning,” stated Bota Systems. “This collaboration will empower research labs to efficiently gather and analyze force-torque, inertial and temperature data, paving the way for novel AI applications.”

Spun out of ETH Robotics Systems Lab in 2020, Bota Systems develops and manufactures multi-axis force-torque sensors, torque sensors, and custom sensors. The Zurich, Switzerland-based company said its sensors give robots the sense of touch so they can move and work freely and safely in academic and industrial applications.

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Gen3 manipulator adds SensONE T15 

Founded in 2006, Kinova Robotics offers robotics for medical, industrial, assistive, and research use cases. The Boisbriand, Quebec-based company has developed the lightweight and portable Gen3 robotic manipulator.

It said the integration of the Gen3 with Bota Systems’ SensONE T15 force-torque sensor will create “a seamless and powerful solution for experimentation.” The combination is intended to support “end-to-end learning.”

“While our Gen3 robot already has a built-in torque sensor, adding the Bota sensor takes its precision and sensitivity to a whole new level – meeting the demands from research laboratories for higher precision and higher sensitivity.” said Rodolphe Rosset, sales director, research and academic, at Kinova.

Kinova, Bota promise easy access, integration

Robotics developers can now order the robot kit with Bota Systems’ SensONE sensor directly from Kinova. The companies said the system is designed for simplicity and ease of integration, taking just minutes to set up.

Developers can access Python and C++ interfaces, along with demonstration code, through the online repositories of both Bota Systems and Kinova, ensuring rapid adoption, they said.

Not even a week after NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang’s CES keynote about “physical AI,” Bota Systems said the combination of its accurate and multimodal sensors with Kinova’s manipulator will empower robotics and AI innovators.

“By bringing accurate force sensing into focus, we’re unlocking a new dimension of robotic intelligence,” said Klajd Lika, the CEO of Bota Systems. “We believe this partnership will accelerate research and inspire innovative solutions that will shape the future of robotics.”

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