Simulink-iiwa interface

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

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

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Video tutorials:

Video tutorials on using the interface are available in here.

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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.

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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},
}

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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)

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Copyright: Mohammad Safeea.

Provided under MIT license (check the license).