/Simulink-iiwa-interface

An interface for controlling KUKA iiwa manipulators from Simulink

Primary LanguageJavaMIT LicenseMIT

Simulink-iiwa interface

The SimulinkIIWA is an interface that allows the user to control KUKA iiwa manipulaotrs from inside Simulink. Unlike the KUKA Sunrise Toolbox or KST, the SimulinkIIWA interface is built upon UDP protocol instead of TCP/IP protocol.

cover photo

Requirments:

The project in this repository was tested using:

  • Matlab 2018a, running under Windows 10.
  • KUKA iiwa 7R800 with Sunrise.OS 1.11.0.7

Video tutorials:

Video tutorials on using the interface are available in here.

Installation

To setup the SimulinkIIWA interface the following steps, for Matlab and for the robot controller, shall be followed:

On IIWA side:

  • You will need a computer connected to the robot through an ethernet cable on the X66 connector of the controller.
  • Open the Sunrise.Workbench on the computer side.
  • Download the SimulinkIIWA repository into your computer, unzip it inside a folder named "SimulinkIIWA".
  • Then from inside the folder "SimulinkIIWA" pick up one of the operation modes available, for example, the Cartesian motion open loop. Each operation mode is provided in a separate folder, which contains the corresponding Sunrise.Workbench code along with the accompanying Simulink project.
  • Inside the Cartesian motion open loop folder, open the iiwa sub-folder.
  • You shall copy the available JAVA files into a project inside the Sunrise.Workbench. Afterwards synchronise the project to the robot controller.
  • After synchronisation, the newly added application will show up in the applications-list on the smartPad of the robot under the name "SimulinkIIWADirectServoCartesian".

On Matlab side:

  • First open Matlab 2018a
  • Then, you shall install the Simulink Desktop Real-time Kernel by following the instructions in here.
  • Note: Mathworks provides the (Simulink Desktop Real-time) under Windows and Mac operating systems. Though the provided scripts were tested only under Windows. To check the installation status of the real-time kernel, type the command (rtwho) in the command window of Matlab 2018a.

Operation:

First run the server on IIWA side using the smartPad, then you shall run the Simulink project in Matlab 2018a, as detailed in the following:

On the IIWA side:

  • Run the server application from the smartPad, you find it in the applications-list under the name "SimulinkIIWADirectServoCartesian".
  • Then, you will have 10 seconds to connect to it from Simulink, if a connection was not initiated during the time limit the program will be terminated automatically.
  • If the connection is terminated, you have to run the server application again from the smartPad before initiating a connection.

On Matlab side:

  • From inside the Cartesian motion open loop folder, open the simulink sub-folder.
  • You shall find the the Simulink project "smartDirectServoCartesian.slx", double click it. It shall open in Simulink.
  • After running the "SimulinkIIWADirectServoCartesian" on the robot side from the smartPad, you shall run the Simulink project "smartDirectServoCartesian.slx" from Simulink by clicking the run button.
  • The robot shall move according to the motion command from Simulink.

Citation

Please cite the following article in your publications if it helps your research 🙏 :

@article{doi:10.1080/0951192X.2023.2177744,
author = {M. Safeea and P. Neto},
title = {Model-based hardware in the loop control of collaborative robots: Simulink and Python based interfaces},
journal = {International Journal of Computer Integrated Manufacturing},
volume = {0},
number = {0},
pages = {1-13},
year  = {2023},
publisher = {Taylor & Francis},
doi = {10.1080/0951192X.2023.2177744},
}

Update log:

  • Uploaded on 3rd-March-2019
  • Update on 11th-June-2019 (Bugfix for 14R820 in Cartesian motion mode).
  • Update on 20th-Jan-2020 (README updated)

Copyright: Mohammad Safeea.

Provided under MIT license (check the license).