Firmenprofil

Kinova

Kinova was founded in 2006 by Charles Deguire and Louis-Joseph Caron L’Écuyer, two passionate, inspiring and visionary young engineers. Located in the heart of Montréal, Canada, Kinova develops, manufactures and markets robotic products specifically intended for people with various physical disabilities.

In fact, one of the two co-founders, Charles Deguire, got the “invention bug” at an early age when supporting and assisting three of his uncles who had muscular dystrophy. One of them, Jacques Forest, had already devised an ingenious makeshift arm that could pick up all kinds of objects. Motivated and inspired by his inventive uncle, who passed away in 1993, Charles Deguire took up his robotic arm idea and elaborated on it.

Thus was born JACO.

Launched in 2009, JACO is a six-axis robotic manipulator arm with a three-fingered hand. This little marvel of engineering significantly improves the lives of persons with reduced mobility. Lightweight, very quiet, unobtrusive, safe and even weatherproof, JACO assists anyone with an upper body mobility impairment to perform complex actions. Many everyday activities, such as picking up glasses, holding a fork or opening a door, which most people do without thinking, can become insurmountable for people who have a disability and have to ask someone else to do it for them. The JACO arm makes life easier for these people by giving them greater freedom and independence.

Quick to be noticed for its exceptional qualities, Kinova’s innovation soon garnered awards and bursaries. Among them, first prize in the Québec Entrepreneurship Contest, technological and technical category – local level, as well as the award for most innovative project in the BDC Enterprize competition in Vancouver in 2007. More recently, JACO was chosen the most innovative product in the daily activities category at Autonomic 2010 in France last June.

Exporting freedom

Building on its success, Kinova intends to pursue and further its research and development of products, like JACO, designed to make life easier for persons with mobility limitations. Concurrently, it has made it a priority to commercialize its latest invention on global markets so that as many users as possible can enjoy the freedom JACO can afford them. The contribution from the clinicians and collaboration with distributors around the world will enable the young firm to work on achieving both of these goals. As a result, more and more people around the world will be able to accept and benefit from the helping hand extended to them through the expertise, dynamism and creativity of Kinova.

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