Robot Operating System Interface (ROS 2)

The FANUC ROS 2 driver is a software interface that connects FANUC CRX Collaborative Robots to the ROS 2 ecosystem. It empowers users to leverage open-source tools for advanced automation, research, and industrial deployment. The driver supports high-frequency control, MoveIt integration, and simulation capabilities, enabling flexible deployment across research and production environments.

ROS, or Robot Operating System, which is a tool for application development commonly found in academia, has been gaining wider acceptance in the industrial space. Accordingly, FANUC offers this option to integrate the into this development ecosystem.

ROS is simply an SDK for building robot applications. The ROS ecosystem is a collection of code that can monitor and control many different types of devices. In addition to robots of both the industrial and mobile variety, devices that can integrate into ROS include cameras, laser sensors, and hardware components such as conveyors or custom machines. Simulation, visualization, AI, and motion planning software modules are also able to be utilized in a ROS application. 

The implementation of the ROS driver on the FANUC robot consists of three different software options. The first, Remote Motion, also known as RMI, is used for the external motion control.  The HMI Device option is also required. This option uses Modbus TCP to communicate status and other I/O between the robot and the ROS driver.  Finally, there is the FANUC ROS 2 Interface. This option serves as the license component and allows the ROS 2 driver to connect to the robot.

The FANUC ROS 2 client software is available for free download from the FANUC GitHub. The driver consists of a binary version of the action server/hardware interface. Robot description files and MoveIt2 configuration files are also included for all supported robot models.  For convienence, the FANUC "External Control Package" software option includes the necessary robot software.