Bosch Rexroth & Kassow Robots: The loser is...
I think both companies complement each other very well. But there's very likely a third party in the bunch that lost out: Yuanda. Because Yuanda is looking for an investor. That is, for relatively little money, a robotics company with product, development and sales would be available. It can be assumed that Bosch Rexroth has also looked at Yuanda. I suspect this was before Yuanda 's insolvency was announced. The fact that Yuanda was considered by Bosch Rexroth is supported by the fact that both companies would have been a good fit for each other. And in general, someone who is interested in an industry likes to look at other market players. You don't get any dumber, and you do gain new insights.
Yuanda and Bosch Rexroth were each ahead of their time
If you look at German robotics in recent years, for a long time there were two particularly unconventional but established companies: FESTO with its bionic use cases and Bosch Rexroth with its Apas. Both products that perhaps pushed the envelope in their day, but had no mass market.
Yuanda was probably also ahead of the times with its Yu. Its software is considered very good and also very easy to use. The vision it contains is also good, and so Bosch Rexroth could actually have acquired the product and technology - cheaply. Instead, they decided to make the trip to Denmark and took a stake in Kassow Robots. Kassow's USP are mechanical: seventh axis, very good speed and all this in best quality. Ideal for solid work but nothing for visions.
The mechanics won, the software lost
The question of how things will develop in terms of software technology will be exciting. For his niche, Kristian Kassow did not see any compelling need for artificial intelligence when he spoke to me in September. He took the opposite approach: first the application, then the AI. From the article at the time:
Still impressed by the heavily AI-based presentation of Agile Robots at the Dresden Robotic Festival, I asked about corresponding plans with him and the future of sensors, on which Neura Robotics relies heavily. In general, he thinks that the future of robotics is difficult to predict. Moreover, he does occupy a niche. What is certain is the high relevance of sensor technology. His cobots already have them. AI is necessary to make cobots smart, but first it needs the task for AI, says Kassow. I also think that the task for AI must not yet be too complex.
Bosch Rexroth is no longer likely to be satisfied with the niche mentioned above. The company is likely to want more. Thus, increased competition with Universal Robots and perhaps also with Doosan and the new FANUC models seems imminent. This competition arises when six axes are enough. Universal Robots, according to rumors, could score with innovations at automatica, however.
Bosch Rexroth could subsequently provide AI software. Perhaps Rethink Robotics will be the first established company to step forward.
By the way, I think the decision in favor of Kassow was already made before the new Techman models were presented. Their improvement clearly lies in the image processing and is therefore at the expense of Yuanda.
(To the photo above: Dr. Marc Wucherer (left), Member of the Board of Management of Bosch Rexroth, and Kristian Kassow)
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The author of this blog is significantly involved in the AI/robotics project Opdra. He advises robotics companies and investors on market analysis and funding/subsidies. More about him can be found here.