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abb_rws_service_provider package from abb_robot_driver repo

abb_egm_hardware_interface abb_egm_state_controller abb_robot_bringup_examples abb_robot_cpp_utilities abb_rws_service_provider abb_rws_state_publisher

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Package Summary

Tags	No category tags.
Version	0.5.0
License	BSD-3-Clause
Build type	CATKIN
Use	RECOMMENDED

Repository Summary

Description	The new ROS driver for ABB robots
Checkout URI	https://github.com/ros-industrial/abb_robot_driver.git
VCS Type	git
VCS Version	master
Last Updated	2025-05-27
Dev Status	UNKNOWN
Released	UNRELEASED
Tags	driver ros-industrial abb ros-control rws egm
Contributing	Help Wanted (-) Good First Issues (-) Pull Requests to Review (-)

Package Description

Provides a ROS node implementation that exposes a set of ROS services, for sending requests to an ABB robot controller via Robot Web Services (RWS) communication. RWS requests can for example be: - Resetting the RAPID program pointer. - Starting/stopping the RAPID program. - Reading/writing IO-signals or RAPID variables.

Additional Links

No additional links.

Maintainers

G.A. vd. Hoorn (TU Delft Robotics Institute)

Authors

Jon Tjerngren

abb_rws_service_provider/README.md

abb_rws_service_provider

Please note that this package has not been productized, and that academia is the intended audience.
The package is provided “as-is”, and as such no more than limited support can be expected.

Overview

The abb_rws_service_provider package provides a ROS node that:

Attempts to connect to an ABB robot controller via the Robot Web Services (RWS) interface.
Collects information from the controller about the current system, for example:
- RobotWare version and present options.
- Configured mechanical unit groups (e.g. robots and external axes).
- Configured RAPID tasks.
Exposes a set of ROS services for interacting with the controller from the ROS system.

Some of the exposed ROS services include:

Basic interaction:
- Setting motors on/off.
- Starting/stopping RAPID execution.
- Getting/setting of RAPID symbols (e.g. constants and variables):
  - Atomic RAPID data types: bool, dnum, num and string.
  - Complex RAPID data structures (i.e. RECORDs, and these are currently only get/set via raw RAPID text format).
- Getting/setting of file contents (of files in the robot controller’s home directory).
- Getting/setting speed ratio for RAPID motions.
- Getting/setting of IO-signals.
RobotWare StateMachine Add-In interaction (only exposed if the StateMachine Add-In is present in the system):
- RAPID interaction:
  - Setting custom RAPID routines to run (the routines needs to be predefined in the RAPID code).
  - Signaling that the custom RAPID routines should be run.
- Externally Guided Motion (EGM) interaction (only exposed if the EGM option is present):
  - Getting/setting EGM RAPID settings.
  - Starting/stopping EGM joint or pose motions.
  - Starting/stopping EGM position streaming (i.e. without controlling motions).
- SmartGripper interaction (only exposed if the SmartGripper option is present):
  - Setting commands to run (e.g. grip in/out or turn on/off vacuum).
  - Signaling that the commands should be run.

Please see the rws_service_provider.launch file for how to start the node and available node parameters. Additionally, the ROS node, provided by the abb_rws_state_publisher package, is required for most of the service calls.

Requirements

RobotWare version 6.07.01 or higher (less than 7.0).

Please see the underlying abb_libegm and abb_librws packages for more details.

Troubleshooting

The following table is non-exhaustive, but it should at least give some ideas for things to check.

Issue	Check
Authentication	The node is currently hardcoded to use the default `RWS` login (`Default User` and `robotics`), but this can be changed in the code if needed.
Communication	Verify that the correct IP-address has been specified for the robot controller, and that it can be reached on the network: <ol><li>Using `ping <IP-address>`.</li><li>Using a web browser with `http://<IP-address>/rw?debug=1`, which will show a login prompt if connected (e.g. use the default login above).</li></ol>
`RobotStudio`	`RobotStudio` simulations blocks remote `RWS` connections by default, which is shown by the `RAPI Unidentified Error` message (e.g. when using a web browser). Please see this post on the official `RobotStudio` forum for how to allow remote `RWS` connections.
ROS Services	Verify that resource names are correctly spelled, for example: <ul><li>IO-signal name.</li><li>`RAPID` task, module and symbol names.</li><li>File name.</li><li>Etc.</li></ul>Please note that most of the exposed services, that sets resources, requires auto mode to be active.

Acknowledgements

ROSIN Project

The core development has been made within the European Union's Horizon 2020 project: ROSIN - ROS-Industrial Quality-Assured Robot Software Components (see http://rosin-project.eu for more info).

eu_flag The ROSIN project has received funding from the European Union's Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement no. 732287.

The opinions expressed here reflects only the author’s view and reflects in no way the European Commission’s opinions. The European Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the contained information.

Special Thanks

Special thanks to gavanderhoorn for guidance with open-source practices and conventions.

CHANGELOG

No CHANGELOG found.

Package Dependencies

Deps	Name
	catkin
	abb_egm_rws_managers
	abb_rapid_sm_addin_msgs
	abb_robot_cpp_utilities
	abb_robot_msgs
	roscpp

System Dependencies

No direct system dependencies.

Dependant Packages

Name	Deps
abb_robot_bringup_examples

Launch files

launch/rws_service_provider.launch
- - robot_ip — IP address to the robot controller's RWS server
  - robot_port [default: 80] — Port number of the robot controller's RWS server
  - robot_nickname [default: ] — Arbitrary user nickname/identifier for the robot controller
  - no_connection_timeout [default: false] — Specifies whether the node is allowed to wait indefinitely for the robot controller during initialization
  - output [default: log] — Specifies where the stdout/stderr streams are directed (i.e. 'log' or 'screen')

Messages

No message files found.

Services

No service files found

Plugins

No plugins found.

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API Docs Browse Code

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