Kassow Robots

Kastrup, just outside Copenhagen, 2015. Kristian Kassow, a co-founder of Universal Robots, starts his own company to build a cobot with seven axes instead of the usual six. The extra axis lets the elbow swing sideways, like a person reaching into a deep cupboard, and avoid obstacles without changing the tool pose. In April 2022 Bosch Rexroth took a majority stake, though Kassow remained CEO and co-owner. It is a typical consolidation pattern in the cobot industry, similar to Teradyne's acquisition of Universal Robots. To grasp the difference from classic arms, read “What Is a Cobot and How Does It Differ from an Industrial Robot” and “Degrees of Freedom (DOF) in Humanoid Robots”, and if you want a reference point from the Universal Robots world, see “Universal Robots UR5e, UR10e and UR20 Compared”. That know-how carried from one company to the other shows in the design: the KR is not a copy of the UR but a response to the limits of six axes. For an integrator it is an interesting alternative when a standard arm does not fit in the cell.

We cover two models, both with a shared 10 kg payload. Kassow Robots KR810 is the entry-level version with 850 mm reach, priced from €29,100 net, sensible for tight workstations where the reach should be short and the elbow agile. Kassow Robots KR1410 has a 1,400 mm reach and is meant for moving materials over greater distances. Price and availability in Poland are not given for the KR1410. Both have seven degrees of freedom and ROS/ROS2 integration, which teams writing their own motion logic appreciate. The choice between them is simple: small cell and precision means the KR810, while a larger workspace means the KR1410. For grippers and sensors there are ready-made solutions from Robotiq and OnRobot, and applications are covered under “Factories and manufacturing” and laboratories. The 550 mm gap in reach between the two models is a chasm for work over a table or when tending a machine: the KR810 will not reach across a larger pallet, the KR1410 will. The flexibility of the seventh axis does come at the price of greater programming complexity, as the manufacturer's own materials also note. Anyone starting out with robots may prefer simpler six-axis kinematics and only later reach for an arm with a seventh axis.

Kassow plays in the niche of seven-axis cobots, valued by integrators looking for greater freedom of movement. Behind it stands Bosch Rexroth as majority shareholder since 2022, which gives access to the sales channels of a large corporation. There is no data on funding, valuation or customers. The closest competitors are Franka Robotics with its seven-axis Franka Research 3, Universal Robots with the UR10e series, Doosan Robotics and FANUC with the FANUC CRX-10iA. Kassow stands out for its kinematics, not its sales volume. An important asset is the combination of its own kinematics with the backing of a large corporation, though we do not know sales figures or market share. For comparison: dozens of models compete in the 10 kg payload class, but few have a seventh axis, which gives Kassow a distinct identity and a talking point with integrators. More on choosing between robot classes is in “Cobot or Industrial Robot”, and a comparison of the UR series in “Universal Robots UR5e, UR10e and UR20 Compared”.

Kassow has no confirmed representative in Poland: for integrators this means engineering support from Denmark and Germany, without a local partner. No Polish deployments are known either. Before you decide, check the purchasing process in “How to Buy a Cobot Step by Step” and the option of using Poland's robotization tax relief (ulga na robotyzację) in “Poland's Robotization Tax Relief”. Look for Polish integrators on “Polish Robotics Companies”. Instead of a local representative in Poland, the question becomes whether the integrator has the skills to deploy and service the robot on its own. That is a real risk on a first project, and worth raising at the request-for-quotation stage, before any purchase decision is made.

Kassow is a good choice for teams that need an agile elbow in a tight workstation and like ROS/ROS2. For a first robotization project that is simple and well documented in Polish, other brands are a better fit. Compare the Kassow Robots KR810 with the UR10e. A great option for experienced teams, a challenge for beginners. Before you decide, ask about support in Polish and about service response times. It is also worth checking whether the team knows ROS2, because it unlocks the largest part of what these arms can do.