KUKA Standard Interface Commands

The KUKA Standard Interface provides the following subprograms:

  1. Multiple parameters should be separated by commas.

  2. Variable-type parameters should use local variables, which take effect only in the program.

  3. Parameters can be defined as IN parameters or OUT parameters.

The KUKA Standard Interface provides the following subprograms.

Initialize Communication

This subprogram sets the name of the XML file used for setting up the TCP/IP communication, flag for successful communication, flag for successful data reception, and wait time before the program stops trying to establish the communication.

Subprogram

MM_Init_Socket(XML_Name[]:IN,Alive_Flag:IN,Recv_Flag:IN,Time_Out:IN)

Parameters

Name Description

IN parameters

XML_Name[]

Name of the XML file, case-sensitive.

Alive_Flag

ALIVE flag number in the XML file. When the flag is set to ON, the communication is successfully established.

Recv_Flag

RECEIVE flag number in the XML file. When the flag is set to ON, the robot has successfully received data.

Time_Out

Wait time in seconds before stopping connection attempt.

Example

MM_Init_Socket(“XML_Kuka_MMIND”,873,871,60)

This example sets the XML file for setting up communication as XML_Kuka_MMMIND, the flag for successful communication as 873, the flag for successful data reception as 871, and wait time as 60 seconds.

Start Mech-Vision Project

This subprogram is for applications that use Mech-Vision. It runs the corresponding project to acquire and process data. It applies for applications that use Mech-Vision but not Mech-Viz.

Subprogram

MM_Start_Vis(Job:IN,Pos_Num_Need:IN,SendPos_Type:IN,MM_J:IN)

Parameters

Name Description

IN parameters

Job

Mech-Vision Project ID, which can be checked and adjusted in the Project List panel of Mech-Vision.

Pos_Num_Need

The expected number of vision points for Mech-Vision to send. The vision point contains the vision pose, corresponding point cloud, label, scaling, etc. Value range: 0–20, in which 0 indicates that all vision points will be received.

SendPos_Type

The type of the robot pose to send to Mech-Vision, from 0 to 3.

  • 0: No robot pose will be sent to the vision system. If the camera is mounted in the Eye-To-Hand mode, the image capturing process is independent of the robot pose, and therefore the robot pose is not needed.

  • 1: Robot pose in current joint positions together with current flange pose will be sent to the vision system. This setting is recommended for projects in the Eye-In-Hand mode. Applicable to most robots (excluding truss robots). When this parameter is being used, the “Path Planning” Step in the Mech-Vision project will use the joint positions sent by the robot. If the flange pose is all zero, please ignore the flange pose data.

  • 2: Robot pose in current flange pose will be sent to the vision system. It is recommended to set this value when the camera is mounted in the Eye-In-Hand mode or other scenarios where only the flange pose data is available (such as truss robots).

  • 3: Robot pose in predefined joint positions set by the user will be sent to the vision system. This setting is recommended for projects in the Eye-To-Hand mode. When the Mech-Vision project contains the “Path Planning” Step, the joint positions sent by the robot will be used as the start pose.

MM_J

E6AXIS variable for storing the joint positions of the start point when SendPose_Type = 3.

Example

MM_Start_Vis(1,1,1,MM_J)

This example triggers Mech-Vision project No.1 to run, and asks the Mech-Vision project to send over one vision point. The robot sends its current joint positions and flange pose when this subprogram is called as the image-capturing pose.

Get Vision Target(s)

This subprogram is for applications that use Mech-Vision but not Mech-Viz. It obtains the vision result from the corresponding Mech-Vision project.

Subprogram

MM_Get_VisData(Job:IN,Last_Data:OUT,Pos_Num:OUT,MM_Status:OUT)

Parameters

Name Description

IN parameters

Job

Mech-Vision Project ID, which can be checked and adjusted in the Project List panel of Mech-Vision.

OUT parameters

Last_Data

Variable, indicating whether all vision points have been sent, 0 or 1. 0: NOT all vision points have been sent (more on the way). 1: All vision points have been sent.

Pos_Num

Variable for storing the number of received vision points.

MM_Status

Variable for storing the status code. Please see Status Codes and Troubleshooting for detailed information.

Example

MM_Get_VisData(1,Last,Pose_Num,Status)

This example obtains the vision result from Mech-Vision project No.1. Whether all vision points have been sent is stored in Last, the number of vision points received is stored in Pose_Num, and the status code is stored in Status.

Start Mech-Viz Project

This subprogram is for applications that use both Mech-Vision and Mech-Viz. It starts the Mech-Viz project that triggers the corresponding Mech-Vision project, and therefore the Mech-Viz project can plan the robot path based on the vision points received from Mech-Vision.

Subprogram

MM_Start_Viz(SendPos_Type:IN,MM_J:IN)

Parameters

Name Description

IN parameters

SendPos_Type

Robot pose type. Value range: 0–2.

  • 0: No robot pose will be sent to Mech-Viz. This setting is recommended for projects in the Eye-To-Hand mode. The simulated robot in Mech-Viz moves from joint positions [0, 0, 0, 0, 0, 0] to the first waypoint.

  • 1: Current joint positions and flange pose of the robot will be sent to Mech-Viz. This setting is recommended for projects in the Eye-In-Hand mode. The simulated robot in Mech-Viz moves from the current joint positions of the real robot to the first waypoint.

  • 2: Joint positions of a specific start point will be sent to Mech-Viz. This setting is recommended for projects in the Eye-To-Hand mode. The simulated robot in Mech-Viz moves from the predefined joint positions to the first waypoint.

MM_J

E6AXIS variable for storing the joint positions of the start point when SendPose_Type = 2.

Example

MM_Start_Viz(1,MM_J)

This subprogram triggers Mech-Viz project to run and send the current joint positions and flange pose of the robot to Mech-Viz.

Get Planned Path

This subprogram obtains the planned path from Mech-Viz.

Subprogram

MM_Get_VizData(Jps_Pos:IN,Last_Data:OUT,Pos_Num:OUT,VisPos_Num:OUT,MM_Status:OUT)

Parameters

Name Description

IN parameters

Jps_Pos

Whether Mech-Viz should send waypoint poses as joint positions or TCPs, 1 or 2.
1: Mech-Viz sends joint positions.
2: Mech-Viz sends TCPs.

OUT parameters

Last_Data

Variable, indicating whether all vision points have been sent, 0 or 1. 0: NOT all vision points have been sent (more on the way). 1: All vision points have been sent.

Pos_Num

Variable for storing the number of received vision points.

VisPos_Num

Variable for storing the position of the first Vision Move waypoint in the path. For example, in the workflow “Fixed-Point Move 1, Fixed-Point Move 2, Vision Move 1, Fixed-Point Move 3”, the position of the first Vision Move waypoint is 3. If the path does not contain Vision Move waypoint, the returned value is 0.

MM_Status

Variable for storing the status code. Please see Status Codes and Troubleshooting for detailed information.

Example

MM_Get_VizData(2,Last,Pose_Num,VisPos_Num,Status)

This example obtains the planned path from Mech-Viz in the form of TCPs. Whether all waypoints have been sent is stored in Last. The number of waypoints received is stored in Pose_Num. The position of the Vision Move waypoint is stored in VisPose_Num. The status code is stored in Status.

Obtain Pose

This subprogram stores a vision pose returned by Mech-Vision or a waypoint pose (as a TCP) returned by Mech-Viz in the specified variable.

Subprogram

MM_Get_Pose(Serial:IN,MM_P:OUT,MM_Label:OUT,MM_Speed:OUT)

Parameters

Name Description

IN parameters

Serial

Specify the index of the pose to be stored.

OUT parameters

MM_P

Variable for storing the specified pose.

MM_Label

Variable for storing the label corresponding to the specified pose.

MM_Speed

Variable for storing the velocity corresponding to the specified pose.

Example

MM_Get_Pose(1,XP1,Label,Pose_Speed)

This example stores the first set of received pose to XP1, the corresponding label to Label, and the corresponding velocity to Pose_Speed.

Obtain Joint Positions (Available when Mech-Viz is used)

This subprogram stores a vision pose returned by Mech-Vision or the JPs of a waypoint returned by Mech-Viz in the specified position variable.

Subprogram

MM_Get_Jps(Serial:IN,MM_J:OUT,MM_Label:OUT,MM_Speed:OUT)

Parameters

Name Description

IN parameters

Serial

Specify the index of the pose to be stored.

OUT parameters

MM_J

Variable for storing the specified set of joint positions.

MM_Label

Variable for storing the label corresponding to the specified set of joint positions.

MM_Speed

Variable for storing the velocity corresponding to the specified set of joint positions.

Example

MM_Get_Jps(1,JP1,Label,Pose_Speed)

This example stores the first set of received joint positions to JP1, the corresponding label to Label, and the corresponding velocity to Pose_Speed.

Switch Mech-Vision Recipe

This subprogram specifies which parameter recipe of the Mech-Vision project to use. Parameter recipes can be used to switch parameter settings, including point cloud model for matching, ROI, confidence threshold, etc, in the same Mech-Vision project when it is used to recognize different workpieces. This subprogram must be called BEFORE MM_Start_Vis.

Subprogram

MM_Switch_Model(Job:IN,Model_Number:IN)

Parameters

Name Description

IN parameters

Job

Mech-Vision Project ID, which can be checked and adjusted in the Project List panel of Mech-Vision.

Model_Number

The ID of a parameter recipe in the Mech-Vision project, from 1 to 99.

Example

MM_Switch_Model(2,2)

This example switches the parameter recipe used to No.2 in Mech-Vision project No.2.

Select Mech-Viz Branch

This subprogram is used to select along which branch the Mech-Viz project should proceed. Such branching is achieved by adding Branch by Msg Step(s) to the Mech-Viz project. This subprogram specifies which exit port such Step(s) should take. MM_START_VIZ must be called BEFORE this subprogram. Mech-Viz will wait for the Branch Exit Port sent by Command 203.

Subprogram

MM_Set_Branch(Branch_Num:IN,Export_Num:IN)

Parameters

Name Description

IN parameters

Branch_Num

Step ID of the “Branch by Msg” Step, which is an integer. The Step ID can be viewed in the Step Parameters panel.

Export_Num

The number of the exit port to take plus 1. For example, to select exit port 0 in Mech-Viz, set the value of this parameter to 1. Value range: 1-99.

Example

MM_Set_Branch(1,3)

This example tells Mech-Viz to take exit port 3 for the “Branch by Msg” Step whose Step ID is 1.

Set Move Index

This subprogram sets the index value for move-type Steps that contain index parameters. These Steps include Move by List, Move by Grid, Custom Pallet Pattern, and Predefined Pallet Pattern. MM_Start_Viz must be called BEFORE this subprogram.

Subprogram

MM_Set_Index(Skill_Num:IN,Index_Num:IN)

Parameters

Name Description

IN parameters

Skill_Num

Step ID of the Step, which is an integer. The Step ID can be viewed in the Step Parameters panel.

Index_Num

The index value that should be set the next time this Step is executed.

When this subprogram is sent, the current index value in Mech-Viz will become the parameter value minus 1.

When the Mech-Viz project runs to the Step specified by this subprogram, the Current Index value in Mech-Viz will be increased by 1 to become the parameter’s value.

Example

MM_Set_Index(2,10)

This example sets the Current Index value to 9 for the Step whose Step ID is 2. When the Step is executed, the Current Index value will be added 1 and become 10.

Get Software Status

This subprogram is used to obtain the software execution status of Mech-Vision, Mech-Viz, and Mech-Center. Currently, this subprogram can only be used to check whether Mech-Vision is ready to run.

Subprogram

MM_Get_Status(MM_Status:OUT)

Parameters

Name Description

OUT parameters

MM_Status

Variable for storing the status code. Please see Status Codes and Troubleshooting for detailed information.

Example

MM_Get_Status(Status)

This example obtains the status code and stores it in Status.

Input Object Dimensions to Mech-Vision

This subprogram is used to dynamically input object dimensions into the Mech-Vision project. This subprogram must be called BEFORE MM_Start_Vis.

Subprogram

MM_Set_BoxSize(Job:IN,Lenght:IN,Width:IN,Height:IN)

Parameters

Name Description

IN parameters

Job

Mech-Vision Project ID, which can be checked and adjusted in the Project List panel of Mech-Vision.

Lenght

Length of the object in mm.

Width

Width of the object in mm.

Height

Height of the object in mm.

Example

MM_Set_BoxSize(1,500,300,200)

This example sets the object dimensions in the Read Object Dimensions Step in the Mech-Vision project No.1 to 500×300×200 mm.

Get/Set DO Signal List

This subprogram obtains the planned DO Signal list for controlling multiple sections of a sectioned vacuum gripper in Mech-Viz. MM_Get_VizData must be called BEFORE this subprogram. Please configure the Mech-Viz project based on the template project in XXXX/Mech-Center-xxx/tool/viz_project/suction_zone, and set the suction cup configuration file in the project.

Subprogram

  • Get DO Signal List

    MM_Get_DoList()

  • Set DO Signal List

    MM_Set_DoList()

Example

MM_Get_DoList()

MM_Set_DoList()

These two examples obtain the DO signal list planned by Mech-Viz, store it in Do_Port[i], and input the values to the corresponding digital outputs.

Input TCP to Mech-Viz

 This subprogram inputs TCP data to the *External Move* Step in {product-viz}.
Please use this subprogram based on the template project in `XXXX/{product-center}-xxx/tool/viz_project/outer_move`, and place the *External Move* Step at a proper position in the workflow. This subprogram must be called BEFORE MM_Start_Viz.

Subprogram

MM_Set_Pos(Out_Pos:IN)

Parameters

Name Description

IN parameters

Out_Pos

Variable for storing the TCP data to be sent to Mech-Viz.

Example

MM_Set_Pos(XP50)

This example sends the TCP data stored in XP50 to the External Move Step in the Mech-Viz project.

Calibration

This subprogram is used for hand-eye calibration (camera extrinsic parameter calibration). It automates the calibration process in conjunction with the Camera Calibration function in Mech-Vision.

Subprogram

MM_CALIB(Move_Type:IN,PosJps:IN,WaitTime:IN,E1:IN)

Parameters

Name Description

IN parameters

Move_Type

The move type of the robot, 1 or 2. 1: MoveL. 2: MoveJ.

PosJps

Pose as flange pose or joint positions, 1 or 2. 1: Flange pose. 2: Joint positions.

WaitTime

The time the robot waits to avoid shaking after it moves to the calibration point; the default value is 2 (s).

E1

Data of the external 7th axis in mm.

Example

MM_CALIB(2,2,2,0)

This example moves the robot in Joint motion type, receives pose data in the form of joint positions, and sets the wait time to 2 seconds to avoid the robot from shaking after it moves to the calibration point. Moreover, the robot does not have an external axis installed.

Get Custom Output Data from Mech-Vision

This subprogram is used to obtain the vision result that includes custom port outputs from the corresponding Mech-Vision project. “Custom port outputs” refers to data output by ports other than poses and labels of the “Procedure Out” Step. The output ports can be customized if the Port Type parameter of the Step is set to “Custom”.

Subprogram

MM_GET_DY_DATA(Job:IN,Pos_Num:OUT,MM_Status:OUT)

Parameters

Name Description

IN parameters

Job

Mech-Vision Project ID, which can be checked and adjusted in the Project List panel of Mech-Vision.

OUT parameters

Pos_Num

INT variable for storing the number of received vision points

MM_Status

INT variable for storing the status code.

Example

MM_GET_DY_DATA(1,Pose_Num,Status)

This example obtains the vision result that includes custom port outputs from Mech-Vision project No.1. The number of vision points received is stored in Pose_Num, and the status code is stored in Status.

Save Vision Point to Specified Variables

This subprogram stores the data in a vision point returned by Mech-Vision in the specified variables. This subprogram should be called AFTER Mech-Vision MM_Get_Dy_Data.

Subprogram

MM_GET_DYPOSE(Serial:IN,MM_P:OUT,MM_Label:OUT)

Parameters

Name Description

IN parameters

Serial

Specify the index of the vision point to be stored.

OUT parameters

MM_P

Variable for storing the pose in the specified vision point.

MM_Label

Variable for storing the label in the specified vision point.

MM_UserData

Predefined global variable for storing the custom port outputs in the specified vision point. The maximum length is 50.

Example

MM_GET_DYPOSE(1,XP1,Label)

This example stores the pose in the first received vision point to XP1, the corresponding label to Label, and the corresponding custom port outputs to MM_UserData.

Get Waypoint from Mech-Viz

This subprogram is used to obtain the planned path from Mech-Viz. The waypoint may be for a Vision Move Step, or for one of the other move-type Steps. A waypoint may contain pose, velocity, gripper info, workobject info, etc.

Waypoints in a planned path can be divided into the following three types.

  1. All waypoints contain the following data: motion type (joint motion or linear motion), tool number and velocity.

  2. Vision move waypoints, including label, number of workobjects that have been picked, number of workobjects picked this time, edge/corner ID of the suction cup, the TCP offset, workobject pose, and dimensions of the work objects combined.

  3. Vision move waypoints including custom data, where the port type of the “Procedure Out” Step of the Mech-Vision project should be “custom”.

Subprogram

MM_GET_PLANDATA(Jps_Pos:IN,Pos_Num:OUT,VisPos_Num:out,MM_Status:OUT)

Parameters

Name Description

IN parameters

Jps_Pos

Expected format of the returned data, see the following table for explanations.

OUT parameters

Pos_Num

Variable for storing the number of received waypoints.

VisPos_Num

Variable for storing the position of the first Vision Move waypoint in the path.

MM_Status

Variable for storing the status code.

The relationship between the value of Jps_Pos and the format of the returned data is summarized below.

Jps_Pos value Format of returned data (Explained below)

1

Pose (joint positions), motion type, tool number, velocity, number of custom ports, custom port output, custom port output, … custom port output

2

Pose (TCP), motion type, tool number, velocity, number of custom ports, custom port output, custom port output, … custom port output

3

Pose (joint positions), motion type, tool number, velocity, depalletizing planning data, number of custom ports, custom port output, custom port output, … custom port output

4

Pose (TCP), motion type, tool number, velocity, depalletizing planning data, number of custom ports, custom port output, custom port output, … custom port output

Pose

The pose of the waypoint, as joint positions (in degree) or TCP, which is composed of Cartesian coordinates (XYZ in mm) and Euler angles (ABC in degree).

Motion type

  • 1: joint motion, MOVEJ

  • 2: linear motion, MOVEL

Tool number

The index number of the tool to be used at this waypoint. -1 means no tool is used.

Velocity

Velocity percentage of the waypoint, equals to the velocity setting in the corresponding move-type Step multiplied by the global velocity setting in Mech-Viz, in the format of percentage.

Depalletizing planning data Data used in planning multi-pick depalletizing tasks. These data are part of the waypoint of the “Vision Move” Step. The following data are included:

  • Label: Composed of 10 integers. If fewer than 10 labels are obtained, the rest of the digits are filled with 0.

  • Number of picked workobjects.

  • Number of workobjects to be picked this time.

  • Edge-corner ID of vacuum gripper: Specify the gripper corner to which the workobject is aligned. Can be checked by double-clicking the corresponding tool in the Resources panel in Mech-Viz and then selecting Configure control logic.

  • TCP offset: The offset between the tool pose at the center of the to-pick workobject and the actual tool pose.

  • Work object orientation: Whether the X-axis of the workobject reference frame is aligned with the X-axis of the tool reference frame (value: 0 or 1).

  • Dimensions of the workobject combined.

Number of custom ports

The number of output keys excluding poses and labels when the Port Type parameter of the “Procedure Out” Step in the Mech-Vision project is set to “Custom”.

Custom port outputs

The outputs excluding poses and labels when the Port Type parameter of the “Procedure Out” Step in the Mech-Vision project is set to “Custom”. The custom port outputs are arranged in alphabetical order of the custom port names.

Example

MM_GET_PLANDATA(2,Pose_Num,VisPos_Num,Status)

This example obtains the planned path that includes custom port outputs from Mech-Viz, and the value of Jps_Pos is 2. The number of waypoints received is stored in Pose_Num. The position of the Vision Move waypoint is stored in VisPose_Num. The status code is stored in Status.

Save Waypoint to Specified Variables

These subprograms are called after getting waypoint from Mech-Viz. These subprograms store the data in a waypoint returned by Mech-Viz in the specified variables.

Subprogram

MM_Get_PlanPose(Serial:IN,Jps_Pos:IN,MM_P:OUT,MM_MoveType:OUT,MM_ToolNum:OUT,MM_Speed:OUT) (when the value of Jps_Pos is 2 or 4)
MM_Get_PlanJps(Serial:IN,Jps_Pos:IN,MM_J:OUT,MM_MoveType:OUT,MM_ToolNum:OUT,MM_Speed:OUT) (when the value of Jps_Pos is 1 or 3)

Parameters

Name Description

IN parameters

Serial

Specify the index of the waypoint to be stored.

Jps_Pos

Expected format of the returned data. Must be the same value as in MM_GET_PLNDT

OUT parameters

MM_P

Variable for storing the TCP in the specified waypoint.

MM_J

Variable for storing the joint positions in the specified waypoint.

MM_MoveType

Variable for storing the motion type in the specified waypoint. 1: joint motion. 2: linear motion.

MM_ToolNum

Variable for storing the tool number in the specified waypoint. -1 indicates no tool is used.

MM_Speed

Variable for storing the velocity in the specified waypoint.

MM_UserData

Predefined global variable for storing the custom port outputs in the specified waypoint. The current length is 50.

MM_Plan_Results

Predefined global variable for storing the depalletizing planning data in the specified waypoint. The current length is 20.

Example

  • Example 1

    MM_Get_PlanPose(1,4,XP1,MoveType,ToolNum,Pose_Speed)

    This example stores the TCP in the first received waypoint to XP1, the corresponding motion type to MoveType, the corresponding tool number to ToolNum, the corresponding velocity to Pose_Speed, the corresponding custom port outputs to MM_UserData, and the corresponding depalletizing planning data to MM_Plan_Results.

  • Example 2

    MM_Get_PlanJps(1,3,JP1,MoveType,ToolNum,Pose_Speed)

    This example stores the joint position in the first received waypoint to P1, the corresponding motion type to MoveType, the corresponding tool number to ToolNum, the corresponding velocity to Pose_Speed, the corresponding custom port outputs to MM_UserData, and the corresponding depalletizing planning data to MM_Plan_Results.

Get Result of Step “Path Planning” in Mech-Vision

This subprogram obtains the collision-free path planned by the “Path Planning” Step from the corresponding Mech-Vision project.

The Port Type parameter of the “Procedure Out” Step in the Mech-Vision project must be set to “Predefined (robot path)”.

Subprogram

MM_GET_VISPATH(Job:IN,Jps_Pos:IN,Last_Data:OUT,Pos_Num:OUT,VisPos_Num:OUT,MM_Status:OUT)

Parameters

Name Description

IN parameters

Job

Mech-Vision Project ID, which can be checked and adjusted in the Project List panel of Mech-Vision.

Jps_Pos

Specify the type of waypoint pose returned by the “Path Planning” Step.
1: The waypoint poses are returned in the form of joint positions.
2: The waypoint poses are returned in the form of TCP.

OUT parameters

Last_Data

Variable, indicating whether all waypoints have been sent, 0 or 1.
0: NOT all waypoints have been sent (more on the way).
1: All waypoints have been sent.

Pos_Num

Variable for storing the number of received waypoints.

VisPos_Num

Variable for storing the position of the first Vision Move waypoint in the path. For example, if the path is composed of Steps Fixed-Point Move_1, Fixed-Point Move_2, Vision Move and Fixed-Point Move_3 sequentially, the position of Vision Move is 3. If the path does not contain “Vision Move”, the value of this parameter is 0.

MM_Status

Variable for storing the status code.

Example

MM_GET_VISPATH(1,1,Last,Pose_Num,VisPos_Num,Status)

This example obtains the planned path from Mech-Vision project No.1 in the form of joint positions. Whether all waypoints have been sent is stored in Last. The number of waypoints received is stored in Pose_Num. The position of the Vision Move waypoint is stored in VisPose_Num. The status code is stored in Status.

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