armctl 0.4.0

Agnostic Robotic Manipulation Controller (armctl)

A unified Python interface for controlling a variety of industrial and hobbyist robots from different manufacturers.

Supported Manufacturers & Robot Series

The armctl library currently supports the following manufacturers and robot models:

Universal Robots	Vention	Elephant Robotics
UR3, UR5, UR5e, UR10, UR16	7th Axis Plate	myCobot Pro600

Want to see your robot supported?
Open an issue or contribute a pull request!

Quick Start

Installation

From PyPI:

pip install armctl

From GitHub:

pip install git+https://github.com/MGross21/armctl.git

Importing the Library

from armctl import *

Note:
For improved runtime performance and clarity, you may import specific manufacturers and robot series directly.

Simple Example with Manufacturer Defaults

with Manufacturer("ROBOT_IP_ADDRESS") as robot:
    robot.move_joints([...])
    robot.get_joint_positions()
    robot.move_cartesian([...])
    robot.get_cartesian_position(...)
    robot.sleep(...)
    robot.get_robot_state()

Simple Example with Specific Robot Series

with RobotSeries("ROBOT_IP_ADDRESS") as robot:
    robot.home()
    robot.move_joints([...])
    robot.get_joint_positions()
    robot.move_cartesian([...])
    robot.get_cartesian_position()
    robot.sleep(...)
    robot.get_robot_state()

Multi-Robot Control

with (
  Robot1("ROBOT1_IP_ADDRESS") as r1,
  Robot2("ROBOT2_IP_ADDRESS") as r2,
):
    r1.home()
    r2.home()

    r1.move_joints([...])
    r2.move_joints([...])

Tip:
For more precise and synchronous control of two or more robots, it is recommended to manage each robot within its own thread or process.

Multithread Control

Replicating the prior example,

import threading

def control_robot(robot, ip):
  with robot(ip) as r:
    r.home()
    r.move_joints([0] * r.DOF)

threads = [
  threading.Thread(target=control_robot, args=(Robot1, "ROBOT1_IP")),
  threading.Thread(target=control_robot, args=(Robot2, "ROBOT2_IP"))
]

for t in threads:
  t.start()
for t in threads:
  t.join()

API Reference

Note:
The API has been designed for maximum compatibility across supported robots. Additional commands, such as gripper controls and other advanced features, are planned for future releases to further expand functionality.

Control Template

The following methods are available to users of the library to control various supported robots.

Method Name	Description
move_joints(pos)	Move the robot to specified joint positions.
get_joint_positions()	Retrieve the current joint positions of the robot.
move_cartesian(pose)	Move the robot to a specified Cartesian pose.
get_cartesian_position()	Retrieve the current Cartesian position of the robot.
stop_motion()	Stop all robot motion immediately.
get_robot_state()	Retrieve the current state of the robot.
sleep(seconds)	Pause execution for a specified number of seconds.
home() (Available only for specific robot series, not for generic manufacturer control)	Move the robot to its home position.

Robot Homing Behavior

The "home" position refers to a predefined, manufacturer-specific pose that is safe and repeatable for initialization and calibration.

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Standard Units

All inputs and outputs use these standard units:

Type	Unit
Joint Angle	radians
Cartesian Position	meters ([x, y, z])
Cartesian Rotation	radians ([rx, ry, rz])

Connection Template

The following methods facilitate explicit connection management and low-level command execution. These are primarily intended for advanced scenarios, such as when not using Python's with/as context manager or when sending custom commands outside the standard API. Use with caution.

Method Name	Description
connect()	Establish a connection to the robot controller.
disconnect()	Close the connection to the robot controller.
send_command(cmd)	Send a low-level command to the robot controller.

Properties Template

The properties template exposes key robot class attributes as variables, allowing you to query important specifications programmatically. These include:

Property Name	Description
JOINT_RANGES	List of allowed ranges for each joint (radians).
DOF	Number of degrees of freedom (joints).
MAX_JOINT_VELOCITY	Maximum joint velocity (radians/second).
MAX_JOINT_ACCELERATION	Maximum joint acceleration (radians/second²).
HOME_POSITION (Available only for specific robot series, not for generic manufacturer control)	Joint positions of robot home position (radians)

Graphical Overview

Below is a high-level diagram illustrating the architecture of the armctl library. This design emphasizes the careful templatization of connection and control APIs, ensuring a consistent and extensible interface across different manufacturers and robot series.

System Logging

By default, the library will show the outgoing commands and incoming data. An example can be seen below:

2025-02-12 13:18:11,350 - INFO - Connected to ElephantRobotics(192.168.1.159:5001)(SEND/RECV)
2025-02-12 13:18:11,351 - SEND - Sending command:   power_on()
2025-02-12 13:18:11,954 - RECV - Received response: [ok]
2025-02-12 13:18:11,954 - SEND - Sending command:   state_on()
2025-02-12 13:18:12,647 - RECV - Received response: [ok]
2025-02-12 13:18:12,647 - SEND - Sending command:   get_angles()
2025-02-12 13:18:12,663 - RECV - Received response: get_angles:[0.290562,-95.891321,-74.804509,-162.949219,1.845703,12.041016]
2025-02-12 13:18:12,663 - SEND - Sending command:   task_stop()
2025-02-12 13:18:13,466 - RECV - Received response: [ok]
2025-02-12 13:18:13,466 - SEND - Sending command:   state_off()
2025-02-12 13:18:14,176 - RECV - Received response: [ok]
2025-02-12 13:18:14,176 - SEND - Sending command:   power_off()
2025-02-12 13:18:14,176 - RECV - Received response: [ok]
2025-02-12 13:18:14,176 - INFO - Disconnected from ElephantRobotics

Disabling Logging

To disable logging in your Python code:

from armctl import Logger
Logger.disable()

Or, set the environment variable before running your script:

export ARMCTL_LOG=0

Re-Enabling Logging

To re-enable logging in your code:

Logger.enable()

Or, remove the environment variable in your shell:

unset ARMCTL_LOG

CLI Tooling

To get started with the command-line interface, run:

armctl --help

Under Development

• JAKA
  • Models: Zu 5
• Dobot
  • Models: Magician Lite

Future Development

• FANUC
  • Models: LR Mate 200iD Series
• More manufacturers and robot series will be supported in future releases.

Contributing

Please feel free to submit a pull request or open an issue for any enhancements or bug fixes. See CONTRIBUTING for more details.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for more details.

Notice

This package automatically installs the Universal Robots RTDE Python Client Library when needed.
The RTDE library is provided by Universal Robots and is subject to their licensing terms.