robot mode use the same output for normal/running/pause

[bodkal]

Affected ROS2 Driver version(s)

humble

Used ROS distribution.

Humble

Which combination of platform is the ROS driver running on.

Ubuntu Linux with standard kernel

How is the UR ROS2 Driver installed.

From binary packets

Which robot platform is the driver connected to.

URSim in linux

Robot SW / URSim version(s)

ros2 run ur_client_library start_ursim.sh -m ur10e

How is the ROS driver used.

Headless without using the teach pendant

Issue details

Summary

When I read the topic /io_and_status_controller/robot_mode using the command:

ros2 topic echo /io_and_status_controller/robot_mode I get the same output for all states: normal, running, and pause.:

mode: 7

Issue details

I am trying to determine the appropriate time to use the service /io_and_status_controller/resend_robot_program so that I can send trajectory commands to the driver using MoveIt. I am only able to successfully send these commands when the TechPad displays the status as running.

Additionally, when I invoke:

ros2 service call /io_and_status_controller/resend_robot_program std_srvs/srv/Trigger "{}" It does not trigger any observable change in the ROS2 topic /io_and_status_controller/robot_mode.

How can I accurately determine the actual robot state? Is there another method or workaround to differentiate these states?

Steps to Reproduce

start sim adn driver.

run

in terminal 1 "ros2 topic echo /io_and_status_controller/robot_mode in terminal 2 "ros2 service call /dashboard_client/brake_release std_srvs/srv/Trigger "{}" in terminal 2 " ros2 service call /io_and_status_controller/resend_robot_program std_srvs/srv/Trigger "{}"

Expected Behavior

The robot_mode topic should show different values for different states (normal, running, pause).

Actual Behavior

The robot_mode topic always shows mode: 7, regardless of the state (normal, running, pause).

Workaround Suggestion

If a workaround has been found, you are welcome to share it.

Relevant log output

No response

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[urfeex]

Hi, thank you for reporting this. The robot_mode will always be RUNNING as long as the brakes are released. That kind of corresponds to the teach pendant showing the green button in the corner (without the text next to it). Whether or not a program is running is independent of that. When booting the robot it will be landing in POWER_OFF and then you usually start the robot using the teach pendand cycling through POWER_ON, IDLE to RUNNING. See the RobotMode message definition for details.

If you want to check whether there is a program running, you would need the ProgramState. This would show whether there is currently a program running on the robot. As a matter of fact we currently do not expose that to ROS 2 through the driver.

But if I understand you correctly, you would like to know whether you can currently send a ROS trajectory to the robot, meaning that the external control program is running on the robot. For exactly this purpose there is the /io_and_status_controller/robot_program_running. It will tell you whether the external program is running and ready to receive commands. (In fact it will tell you whether the driver's ReverseInterface is connected, but unless you did something manual to change that behavior, the two statements should be equivalent in the context you asked for).

I hope, that helps.

[bodkal]

Thanks,

/io_and_status_controller/robot_program_running

is exactly what I needed!

[urfeex]

Glad, I could help :-)