urRTDEClient

Connect to simulated or physical cobot from Universal Robots over RTDE

Since R2024a

Description

The urRTDEClient object represents a connection from MATLAB to the Real-Time Data Exchange (RTDE) server in Universal Robots (UR) controller. You can connect to the UR controller in the URSim offline simulator from Universal Robots or to the UR controller in a physical cobot, and then exchange data over the RTDE protocol (version 2). To interact with the cobot to read robot state data, send joint and Cartesian control commands, and follow a set of joint-space or task-space waypoints, use this object with the functions listed in Object Functions.

Creation

Syntax

ur = urRTDEClient(URControllerIP)

ur = urRTDEClient(URControllerIP,Name=Value)

Description

ur = urRTDEClient(URControllerIP) creates a connection, ur, and connects to the RTDE server in the UR controller at the specified IP address. The UR controller can run in the URSim simulator or in the Mini-ITX PC in the Control Box.

ur = urRTDEClient(URControllerIP,Name=Value) sets properties using one or more name-value arguments. For example, to exchange data at a rate of 500 Hz, set RTDEFrequency to 500.

Input Arguments

URControllerIP — IP address of UR controller

string scalar | character vector

IP address of the UR controller, specified as a string scalar or character vector.

Data Types: string | char

Properties

CobotName — Name of Universal Robots cobot

'universalUR5e' (default) | string scalar

Name of the Universal Robots cobot for which you want to create the connection object, specified as a string scalar. By default, the value is 'universalUR5e'.

Example: ur = urRTDEClient('172.19.98.176',CobotName='universalUR10e')

Data Types: string

RTDEFrequency — Data sampling and exchange frequency

125 (default) | numeric scalar

Data sampling and exchange frequency (in Hz), specified as a numeric scalar. The MATLAB client and UR controller server sample and exchange data over RTDE at the specified frequency. By default, the value is 125.

Example: ur = urRTDEClient('172.19.98.176',RTDEFrequency = 500)

Data Types: double

ConnectionTimeout — Timeout duration to establish TCP/IP communication

10 (default) | numeric scalar

Timeout duration, specified as a numeric scalar. The TCP/IP server attempts to establish a connection within the specified duration. By default, the value is 5.

Example: ur = urRTDEClient('172.19.98.176',ConnectionTimeOut = 10)

Data Types: double

RigidBodyTree — Rigid body tree robot model

rigidBodyTree object

This property is read-only.

Rigid body tree robot model, returned as a rigidBodyTree object.

ControllerVersion — UR controller version

numeric scalar

This property is read-only.

UR controller version, returned as a numeric scalar.

Data Types: double

Object Functions

readJointConfiguration	Get current joint configuration from the robot
readJointVelocity	Get current joint velocities from the robot
readCartesianPose	Get current end-effector pose from the robot
readEndEffectorVelocity	Get current end-effector velocities from the robot
recordRobotState	Log the key robot state parameters during motion of robot
sendJointConfiguration	Command robot to move to desired joint configuration
sendJointConfigurationAndWait	Command robot to move to joint configuration and wait for the motion to complete
sendCartesianPoseAndWait	Command robot to move to desired Cartesian pose and wait for the motion to complete
readMotionStatus	Get current motion status of the robot
manageGripperAttachment	Attach or detach gripper connected to Universal Robots cobot
actuateGripper	Control attached gripper with grip or release action
sendServoJCommands	Send Servoj commands
sendSpeedJCommands	Send speedj commands
executeURScriptCommand	Send URScript command to control cobot over RTDE interface
followCartesianWaypoints	Command robot to move along the desired Cartesian waypoints
followJointWaypoints	Command robot to move along the desired joint space waypoints

Examples

Connect to a Cobot Using Controller IP Address

Connect to the physical or simulated cobot (in the URSim offline simulator from Universal Robots), over RTDE, be specifying the controller IP address.

ur = urRTDEClient('172.19.98.176');

ur = 
  urRTDEClient with properties:

            CobotName: 'universalUR5e'
       URControllerIP: '172.19.98.176'
    ControllerVersion: '5.11.1.0'
        RTDEFrequency: 125
    ConnectionTimeOut: 10
        RigidBodyTree: [1×1 rigidBodyTree]

Connect to a Cobot by Specifying Other Optional Arguments

Connect to the physical or simulated cobot (in the URSim offline simulator from Universal Robots), over RTDE, by specifying the cobot name, RTDE frequency, and timeout.

Specify cobot name to establish the connection.

ur = urRTDEClient('172.19.98.176',CobotName='universalUR10e');

Specify the frequency for data exchange over RTDE.

ur = urRTDEClient('172.19.98.176',CobotName = 'universalUR10e',RTDEFrequency = 500);

Specify the timeout value for establishing connection over RTDE.

ur = urRTDEClient('172.19.98.176',CobotName = 'universalUR10e',ConnectionTimeOut = 10);

Version History

Introduced in R2024a