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urRobot

EPICS urRobot

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This support module provides an EPICS interface to control a Universal Robots e-series robot arm. It works by mapping function calls in the ur_rtde library to EPICS PVs through asyn parameters.

Key Features

  • Access to large number of UR robot commands and status information
  • Control individual joints and end-effector position
  • Define joint or Cartesian space waypoints wtih associated waypoint actions in EPICS PVs
  • Define paths to move through a series of waypoints
  • GUIs in CSS-Phoebus, MEDM, and caQtDM

Interfaces

The primary method for controlling Universal Robots remotely is through connecting a TCP client to various servers hosted by the robot’s controller. The ur_rtde library breaks up functionality into four specific clients, or interfaces. For maximum flexibility, each interface in the ur_rtde library can be loaded separately and each accepts multiple connections, except the RTDE Control interface which only support a single connection.

For more details on how to add the EPICS UR Robot support to an IOC, see Quickstart.

Dashboard Interface

The dashboard interface provides basic functionality for interacting with the robot such as:

  • Loading, playing, pausing, and stopping URP programs that are saved in the controller
  • Turning the robot and controller power on/off
  • Releasing the breaks, closing popups, and restarting the safety configuration
  • Basic status information such as the robot’s mode, runtime state, and safety status

RTDE Receive Interface

The RTDE Receive Interface provides in-depth status information on the robot including:

  • Runtime state and safety mode
  • Joint positions, velocities, accelerations, moments, temperatures, currents, and voltages
  • Tool center point (TCP) pose, speed, and force
  • Tool accelerometer reading
  • Momentum
  • Main controller and robot voltages and currents
  • Digital inputs and outputs
  • Analog inputs and outputs

RTDE Control Interface

The RTDE Control Interface provides functions for moving the robot including:

  • Moving individual joints to specified angles
  • Moving the end-effector a specified pose

RTDE I/O Interface

The RTDE I/O interface provides functions for reading and writing to the digital and analog I/O pins on the robot controller, as well as the ability to adjust the speed slider.

Additional Features

Waypoints

Cartesian (linear in tool space) and joint space waypoints in can be defined using the provided waypointJ.db and waypointL.db databased. It is often most useful to load many waypoints using a substitutions file and configure the waypoints later at runtime. An example substitutions file can be found at urRobotApp/iocsh/waypoints.substitutions.

Paths

Paths of waypoints can be defined using the provided path.db and path_waypoint.db databases. Like waypoints, it is often useful to load several paths with a number of possible points using a substitutions file. An example can be found at urRobotApp/iocsh/paths.substitutions.