UR Robotiq Integrated Driver

This repository provides Python 3 packages designed for ROS 2 Humble to control the Robotiq 2F gripper attached to Universal Robot (UR) robot arms using the toolport available on the robot arms' wrist.

System Requirements

⚠️ Only e-Series robots are capable of using the tool port!

You must complete the following steps before using this repository:

1. Remove any Robotiq related URCap present on the robot controller via the teach pendant.
2. Complete the robot side setup as instructed by ur_robot_driver documentation.

Quick Start

1. Clone the repository

user@host:~$ git clone https://github.com/robotic-vision-lab/UR-Robotiq-Integrated-Driver.git

2. Run the Docker container

user@host:~/UR-Robotiq-Integrated-Driver$ ./docker/run.sh

root@cb0ae6649502:/#

3. Build the ROS 2 workspace inside the Docker container

root@host:~/colcon_ws# apt-get update
root@host:~/colcon_ws# rosdep update
root@host:~/colcon_ws# rosdep install --from-paths src --ignore-src -r -y
root@host:~/colcon_ws# colcon build --symlink-install
root@host:~/colcon_ws# source install/setup.bash

4. Set the robot parameters

export UR_IP= # robot IP address e.g., 192.168.1.199
export UR_HOSTNAME=  # robot network hostname e.g., ur-20224536182
export UR_TYPE= # ur robot type, one of [ur3, ur3e, ur5, ur5e, ur10, ur10e, ur16e, ur20, ur30]
export REVERSE_IP= # host (your PC) IP address e.g., 192.168.1.99

5. Start ur_robot_driver with tool communication enabled

root@host:~/colcon_ws# ros2 launch ur_robot_driver ur_control.launch.py ur_type:=$UR_TYPE robot_ip:=$UR_IP reverse_ip:=$REVERSE_IP use_tool_communication:=true

UR_HOSTNAME may be used instead of UR_IP if your network resolves it.

REVERSE_IP is needed when using a docker container on Windows, where --network host is unavailable and only needed when you are running external_control.

6. Start rvl_ur_robotiq_driver controller node

In a new terminal, run the following commands:

user@host:~$ docker exec -it rvl-ur-robotiq-container bash
root@host:~/colcon_ws# source install/setup.bash
root@host:~/colcon_ws# ros2 run rvl_robotiq_driver robotiq_controller

🗒️ NOTE: Verify that the gripper is powered and the gripper status LED is on and is solid blue. This means that the driver has successfully established communication with the gripper. If the LED is not on or is red, please see the Troubleshooting section.

7. Activate the gripper via provided service

In a new terminal, run the following commands:

user@host:~$ docker exec -it rvl-ur-robotiq-container bash
root@host:/# cd /root/colcon_ws
root@host:~/colcon_ws# source install/setup.bash
root@host:~/colcon_ws# ros2 service call /robotiq/activate std_srvs/srv/Trigger

At this point, you should see the gripper cycle through its activation sequence by fully closing then fully opening its fingers. The gripper is now ready to receive commands.

⚠️ WARNING: This is an example usage container, and the run command includes the --rm flag, which means that the container will be deleted after exiting the container. If you want to keep the container, remove the --rm flag from the run command.

Provided Services and Topics

Topics

/robotiq/joint_states
/robotiq/status

Services

/robotiq/activate
/robotiq/auto_close/fragile
/robotiq/auto_close/medium
/robotiq/auto_close/soft
/robotiq/auto_close/strong
/robotiq/auto_open/fragile
/robotiq/auto_open/medium
/robotiq/auto_open/soft
/robotiq/auto_open/strong
/robotiq/reactivate
/robotiq/request_status
/robotiq/set_opening
/robotiq/set_position

You can use ros2 topic info and ros2 service info to get more information about each topic and service. Alternatively, rqt have plugins that can be used to inspect topics and call services, though this would require you to enable GUI from the Docker container, which is not in the scope of this repository. This feature can still be accessible if you have ROS 2 Humble on your host machine.

Citation

If you find this code useful, then please consider citing our work.

You can use the "Cite this repository" feature under About section for automatic generation of APA and BibTex references.

A raw BibTex entry is also provided below:

@software{tram2023ur,
  author={Tram, Minh},
  title={{UR-Robotiq Integrated Driver}},
  url={https://github.com/robotic-vision-lab/UR-Robotiq-Integrated-Driver},
  version={1.0.0},
  year={2023}
}

Troubleshooting

1. Gripper is not powered (No status LED)

• Check physical connection between the gripper and the toolport on the robot arm.
• Check that the robot is not in E-Stop or Power Off state.

2. Status LED is RED

• Make sure that the RS-485 URCap is installed and enabled on the robot controller.
• Make sure that the ur_robot_driver launch command has use_tool_communication:=true argument and correct robot IP address.
• Make sure that the gripper controller node is running and is not reporting any errors.

3. Status LED is BLUE but gripper is not responding to commands

• Restart the gripper controller node.

References

• ROS Industrial Robotiq
• Universal Robot ROS 2 driver