Most medical robotics programs shouldn't start with a custom arm. Here's how to know when yours should.
Medical device companies don't come to Kinova to become robotics experts – they come so they don't have to. But at some point in a successful program, the standard arm stops being the accelerator and becomes the constraint. This white paper is about recognizing that moment, and what happens after it.
It's the wrong question to answer with a brochure. A custom mechanical arm is an investment in one very specific geometry and workflow, and it only pays off once you know that geometry and workflow are the right ones. Commit too early and you usually pay twice: once for the design, and again when the requirements shift.
So this white paper does something unusual for a vendor document: it makes the case for not going custom first, then sets out precisely what has to be true before it becomes the right call.
If you're still answering does this concept work?, the white paper will tell you to stay on a standard platform – and explain why that's the faster path to your own answer.
"It's slower than picking a part off a shelf, by design. But it's also structured, transparent, and grounded in components with a track record – a very different risk profile than starting a robotic arm from a blank sheet of paper."
