Kinova modular robot arms for service robotics applications

This article presents Kinova's modular robotic systems, including the robots JACO2 and MICO2, actuators and grippers. Kinova designs and manufactures robotics platforms and components that are simple, sexy and safe under two business units: Assistive Robotics empowers people living with disabilities to push beyond their current boundaries and limitations while Service Robotics empowers people in industry to interact with their environment more efficiently and safely. Kinova is based in Boisbriand, Québec, Canada. Its technologies are exploited in over 25 countries and are used in many applications, including as service robotics, physical assistance, medical applications, mobile manipulation, rehabilitation, teleoperation and in research in different areas such as computer vision, artificial intelligence, grasping, planning and control interfaces. The article describes Kinova's hardware platforms, their different control modes (position, velocity and torque), control features and possible control interfaces. Integration to other systems and application examples are also presented

Nickel-Catalyzed Reductive Arylation of Redox Active Esters for the Synthesis of α-Aryl Nitriles – Role of a Chlorosilane Additive

A nickel-catalyzed reductive cross-coupling of redox-active N-hydroxyphthalimide (NHP) esters and iodoarenes for the synthesis of α-aryl nitriles is described. The NHP ester substrate is derived from cyanoacetic acid, which allows for a modular synthesis of substituted α-aryl nitriles, an important scaffold in pharmaceutical sciences. Mechanistic studies reveal that decarboxylation of the NHP ester to the reactive radical intermediate is accomplished by a combination of a chlorosilane additive and Zn dust. The reaction exhibits a broad scope as many functional groups are compatible under the reaction conditions, including complex highly functionalized medicinal agents.</p

Kinova Modular Robot Arms for Service Robotics Applications

This article presents Kinova's modular robotic systems, including the robots JACO2 and MICO2, actuators and grippers. Kinova designs and manufactures robotics platforms and components that are simple, sexy and safe under two business units: Assistive Robotics empowers people living with disabilities to push beyond their current boundaries and limitations while Service Robotics empowers people in industry to interact with their environment more efficiently and safely. Kinova is based in Boisbriand, Québec, Canada. Its technologies are exploited in over 25 countries and are used in many applications, including as service robotics, physical assistance, medical applications, mobile manipulation, rehabilitation, teleoperation and in research in different areas such as computer vision, artificial intelligence, grasping, planning and control interfaces. The article describes Kinova's hardware platforms, their different control modes (position, velocity and torque), control features and possible control interfaces. Integration to other systems and application examples are also presented

Driving Aspirational Process Mass Intensity Using SMART-PMI and Innovative Chemistry

An important metric for gauging the impact a synthetic route has on chemical resources, cost, and sustainability is process mass intensity (PMI). Calculating the overall PMI or step PMI for a given synthesis from a process description is more and more common across the pharmaceutical industry, especially in process chemistry departments. Our company has established a strong track record of delivering on our Corporate Sustainability goals, being recognized with eight EPA Green Chemistry Challenge Awards in the last 15 years and we show how these routes help define aspirational PMI tar-gets. While green chemistry principles help in optimizing PMI and developing more sustainable processes, a key challenge for the field is defining what a ‘good’ PMI for a molecule looks like given its structure alone. An existing tool chemists have at their disposal to predict PMI requires the synthetic route be provided or proposed (e.g., via retrosynthetic analysis) which then enables practitioners to compare predicted PMIs between routes. We have developed SMART-PMI (in-Silico MSD Aspirational Research Tool) to fill the gap in predicting PMI from molecular structure alone. Using only a 2D chemical structure, we can generate a predicted SMART-PMI from a measure of molecular complexity. We show how these predictions correlate with historical PMI data from our company’s clinical and commercial portfolio of processes. From this SMART-PMI prediction, we have established target ranges which we termed “Successful”, “World Class”, and “Aspirational” PMI. The goal of this range is to set the floor for what is a “good” PMI for a given molecule and provide ambitious targets to drive innovative green chemistry. Using this model, chemists can develop synthetic strategies that make the biggest impact on PMI. As innovation in chemistry and processes lead to better and better PMIs , in turn, this data can drive ever more aggressive targets for the model. The potential of SMART-PMI to set industry-wide aspirational PMI tar-gets is discussed

Cobalt-Catalyzed Enantioselective Hydrogenation of Minimally Functionalized Alkenes: Isotopic Labeling Provides Insight into the Origin of Stereoselectivity and Alkene Insertion Preferences

The asymmetric hydrogenation of cyclic alkenes lacking coordinating functionality with a <i>C</i>₁-symmetric bis­(imino)­pyridine cobalt catalyst is described and has been applied to the synthesis of important substructures found in natural products and biologically active compounds. High activities and enantioselectivities were observed with substituted benzo-fused five-, six-, and seven-membered alkenes. The stereochemical outcome was dependent on both the ring size and exo/endo disposition. Deuterium labeling experiments support rapid and reversible 2,1-insertion that is unproductive for generating alkane product but accounts for the unusual isotopic distribution in deuterated alkanes. Analysis of the stereochemical outcome of the hydrogenated products coupled with isotopic labeling, stoichiometric, and kinetic studies established 1,2-alkene insertion as both turnover limiting and enantiodetermining with no evidence for erosion of cobalt alkyl stereochemistry by competing β-hydrogen elimination processes. A stereochemical model accounting for the preferred antipodes of the alkanes is proposed and relies on the subtle influence of the achiral aryl imine substituent on the cobalt catalyst