Possible to create laser instrument?

Daedalus

Hi, first time user here.

I wonder if it's possible to create a
laser measuring instrument for RobotStudio? It should simply be able to
measure the distance to the closest object in the path of the beam.

So
far I have created a "safety scanner" through the API by which I mean I created a
polygon that was configured as the lasers programmed safety field and I
then added a button which checked for collisions using the
CollissionDetector class. At last it printed out a simple true or false
to the debug window in RobotStudio depending on if there was a
collision or not. This data can of course not be used by say a robot in
the cell, so the question is how to do it correctly.

I guess I
would like a stand alone instrument that could measure these things. In
my very simple safety scanner example the functionality was still
highly connected to RobotStudio through a push button which feels
wrong. But if there is no other way I guess I could go with that.

Daedalus

Ok since, no one seems to be answering perhaps I need to clearify a little.

I want to create a laser range measuring instrument that can be added to a robot cell. It should be possible for it to read a range to the object it points towards.
Is this possible?
If it is, how should it be done? API programming? something else?

Am I in the correct forum for this?

Daedalus2009-03-09 15:21:40

RussD

At some point, you will need to connect the device to the robot controller or to some other controlling device. What do you want ot do with the data? Influence the movement of the robot or send the data to another device? Will the robot be controlling the device or just moving it around? I would guess that you will eventually need to interact with the device through RAPID and the I/O system.

Daedalus

What do you want ot do with the data?
I guess this sort of depends on what I CAN do with the data in RobotStudio. I want the device to work like "device A from manifacturer B", so I guess the data output from the device should look just like it would if "device A" were outputting it in the real world.
So if something should use the data it has to convert it from what the device gave.

Influence the movement of the robot or send the data to another device?
I guess both. Anything "device A" could be used for in the real world.

Will the robot be controlling the device or just moving it around?
As above. The programming of the device should be as solid as to allow all use cases.

I would guess that you will eventually need to interact with the device through RAPID and the I/O system.
Yeah I would imagine something like that too, if that is how the device would work in the real world. Connecting the device in RobotStudio should be the same thing as connecting it in the real world.

I'm in no way experienced in RobotStudio, I'm really more of a PC programmer than a robot programmer, although I have programmed and used ABB robots in school, years ago.
Can all this be realized through the RobotStudio API or should it be done through some other means?
Can it be realized in RobotStudio at all?

Daedalus2009-03-09 16:29:55

RussD

This seems like something you would want to use the real hardware to develop. You could use the virtual controller of RobotStudio to write your RAPID code and develop your configuration, but I don't see much advantage to trying to simulate all of this in RobotStudio, which is primarily what the RobotStudio API is for, enhancing or customizing simulation functionality. I am not the expert on RS Offline functionality though, so maybe someone else would have some thoughts on how it might benefit you.