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You are reading the documentation for an older Pickit release (2.3). Documentation for the latest release (3.3) can be found here.

The Pickit low-level URCap interface

This article documents the Pickit low-level URCap interface, which consists of a set of global variables, commands and helper functions that allow you to explicitly write the logic of a pick and place application. A companion article describes an example robot program written using the low-level interface.

Note

The low-level interface exists mainly for backward compatibility with the URCap version 1, and for power users that need to implement application logic that cannot be represented by the pick and place template.

The pick and place template is the preferred way to set up a new pick and place application, as it requires a lower programming effort, and implements a robust execution logic under the hood.

Global variables

The URCap plugin exposes global variables under their version 2 names (CamelCase), and also under the version 1 names (snake_case) for backward compatibility. For new programs, the version 2 names are recommended.

• PickitPick, also exposed as pickit_pose.

• PickitPrePick, also exposed as pickit_pre_pose.

• PickitObjType, also exposed as pickit_type.

• PickitObjDim, also exposed as pickit_dim.

Commands

Picking

Check if robot mode enabled
Checks whether robot mode is enabled in Pickit. If robot mode is enabled, program execution continues. If robot mode is not enabled, a pop-up asks the user if it wants to enable it from the robot (as long as there are no unsaved changes). Robot mode can also be enabled from the Pickit web interface. All commands listed below require robot mode to be enabled.

Select

Loads the specified setup and product configuration. This configuration specifies the behavior of Pickit detections, e.g. what to look for, in which part of the field of view. Parameters Setup Any of the setup configurations currently available in the connected Pickit system. Product Any of the product configurations currently available in the connected Pickit system. Available configurations are listed in drop-down menus. Note: If you need to change setup or product based on a runtime decision (not known in advance), consider using the pickit_configure helper instead.

Find object(s)

Trigger a Pickit object detection using the currently active setup and product configuration. The next Pickit command after Find object(s) should always be Get result, which waits until a response for the detection request is ready. Note that it’s valid (and sometimes encouraged) to perform robot motions or other non Pickit actions between calls to Find object(s) and Get result, for instance. Refer to the cycle time optimization section of the URCap example picking program article for the motivation behind performing robot motions while a Pickit detection is.

Get next object

Request the next detected object. A single call to Find object(s) might yield the detection of multiple objects. Get next object allows to request the next available object, if any, without the need of triggering a new detection and the time overhead it entails. The next Pickit command after  Get next object should always be Get result, which waits until a response for the request is ready. It’s recommended to use this command only when objects in the detection region have not moved (significantly) since calling Find object(s). A good example of when to use Get next object is when a detection is unreachable by the robot. An example of when using Get next object is not ideal would be the following bin picking scenario: Trigger Pickit detection that finds multiple objects. First object is picked. Since objects are randomly placed in bin, neighboring objects move and fall into place. Call Get next object and attempt to pick next object. If the next object is one of the neighboring parts that moved, the pick might fail. When the objects in the detection region have moved, it’s better to re-trigger  Find object(s) instead.

Get result

Wait for Pickit reply with detection results. Get result should always be the next Pickit command after a Find object(s) or Get next object request. It blocks until a reply from Pickit is received, and the success of the request can then be queried by calling pickit_object_found(). When an object has been found, the following global variables are populated: Object pick pose: pickit_pose Object pre-pick pose: pickit_pre_pose. This pose is computed by applying an offset to pickit_pose along a specified direction, as specified by the command parameters. Object dimensions: pickit_dim Object type: pickit_type Parameters Pre-pick offset: base frame pickit_pre_pose is computed by applying an offset along the z-axis of the specified frame. Valid options are object frame or robot base frame. Pre-pick offset Offset in mm applied to compute pickit_pre_pose.

Save snapshot
Details here.

Build background
Details here.

Calibration

Find calibration plate
Details here.

Helper functions

pickit_empty_roi()
Check if the last call to Get result detected an empty Region of Interest (ROI). Return true if Pickit detected an empty ROI. When pickit_object_found() returns false, it can be due to: The ROI is not empty, but Pickit doesn’t detect the active product. The ROI is empty. Use this function if you need to discriminate between these two situations.

pickit_object_found()

Check if the last call to Get result produced valid detection results. Return true if detection results are available. When results are available, the global variables PickitPrePick and PickitPick have valid contents. This function returns false when Pickit replied with no detection results (nominal usecase); or if called without making a request to Pickit and collecting the results with Get result (should be avoided, as it makes no sense).

pickit_object_reachable()
Check if the last call to Get result produced reachable pick and pre-pick poses. Return true if the global variables PickitPrePick and PickitPick contain poses that are reachable by the robot. Note that pickit_object_reachable() == true implies pickit_object_found() == true.

pickit_no_image_captured()
Check if object detection was unsuccessful due to a failure to capture a camera image. When this is the case, it typically indicates a hardware disconnection issue, such as a loose connector or broken cable. This function can be used as trigger to send an alarm to a higher level monitoring system. Return true if object detection was unsuccessful due to a failure to capture a camera image.

pickit_remaining_objects()

Get the number of remaining object detections. After calling Get result, this function returns the total number of object detections minus one, as the first object data is available through the Global variables. This value is also equal to the number of times Get next object can be called. As such, the returned value decreases with each call to Get next object. Return Number of remaining object detections available for query.

pickit_configure(setup_id, product_id)

Loads the specified setup and product configuration. This function is similar to the Select command, but specifies the setup and product by their respective IDs (integers) as opposed to names from a drop-down. Prefer using this function over the Select command when you need to change the setup or product based on a runtime decision, and the IDs are read from variable values. Parameters setup_id ID (integer) of a setup configurations currently available in the connected Pickit system. product_id ID (integer) of a product configurations currently available in the connected Pickit system. Return true on configuration success: setup and product IDs exist and loaded successfully.