High performance communication with external sensors for controlling the LBR iiwa.
The application shows just how easily third-party external sensors and software can be integrated into the LBR iiwa controller. This is demonstrated in an application in which the LBR iiwa tracks and catches artificial beetles crawling around it. The robot is equipped with a standard USB-camera and a gripper. Communication between the camera and robot controller takes place within milliseconds, with the camera thus controlling the robot. The motion path of the LBR iiwa is continuously re-planned in real time. Industrial applications could involve recognizing and picking up various parts on a conveyor, for example. This is another application which is implemented without physical safeguards, as the robot is operating in safe human-robot collaboration (HRC) mode. A further HRC feature is demonstrated by simply touching the robot: due to the integrated torque sensors, this action switches off the gripper, setting the beetles free again.