Initialize Serial Arm VI

Owning Palette: Serial Arm Definition VIs

Requires: Robotics Module

Sets the properties of a serial robot arm and generates a representation of the arm. If you have access to a 6R, 5R, or SCARA arm, generate that type of arm. If you do not have access to an arm of those types, generate a generic arm. You must manually select the polymorphic instance to use.

You can use any unit of measurement to specify distance values. However, always use a consistent unit when you specify these values.

Note  LabVIEW provides analytical inverse and numerical inverse kinematics solvers. Choose an inverse kinematics solver according to the arm type you generate.

Examples

Generic Serial Arm

This instance creates generic serial arms.

	kinematic parameters is a cluster whose elements define the kinematic properties of the link. twist angle specifies the angle, in radians, between the rotation axis of the joint of this link and the rotation axis of the next joint with respect to the link. length is the length of the link between the joint of this link and the next joint. rotation angle specifies the angle of rotation, in radians, between this link and the next link along the rotation axis of the joint that connects the links. offset distance specifies the distance from this link to the next link along the axis of the joint that connects the links. joint type specifies the type of the link joint. 0 Revolute—Defines the link as having a constant offset distance and a variable rotation angle. 1 Prismatic (default)—Defines the link as having a constant rotation angle and a variable offset distance. joint coordinate offset specifies an angle, in radians, to offset the rotation angle of the joint. Use this input to allow an arbitrary pose to represent a pose with zero joint angles because such a configuration is not valid typically.
	dynamic parameters is a cluster whose elements define the dynamic properties of the link. mass specifies the mass of the link. gear ratio specifies the ratio of motor velocity to joint velocity. motor inertia specifies the force required to accelerate or decelerate the motor. center of gravity is a three-element array that defines the point on the link at which the weight of the link can be considered to act. viscous friction specifies the force of resistance of joint surfaces in motion through a fluid. positive coulomb friction specifies the force of resistance between dry joint surfaces in the positive direction. negative coulomb friction specifies the force of resistance between dry joint surfaces in the negative direction. inertia matrix specifies the torque that results from inertia on the link.
	error in describes error conditions that occur before this node runs. This input provides standard error in functionality.
	serial arm out is a reference to a serial robotic arm. You can wire this output to other Robotic Arm VIs.
	error out contains error information. This output provides standard error out functionality.

SCARA Serial Arm

This instance creates SCARA serial arms with certain required parameters.

	lengths is a four-element array whose elements are the lengths of links. The length is the distance between the joint of one link and the next joint.
	offsets is a four-element array in which each element is the value of a joint when links 2, 3, and 4 are fully extended along the x-axis and the end effector is at position [0, 0, 0, 0]. Use this input to allow arbitrary joint values to represent a pose with zero joint angles because such a configuration is not valid typically.
	error in describes error conditions that occur before this node runs. This input provides standard error in functionality.
	SCARA serial arm out is a reference to a SCARA serial robotic arm. You can wire this output to other Robotic Arm VIs.
	error out contains error information. This output provides standard error out functionality.

6R Type 1 Serial Arm

This instance creates 6R type 1 serial arms with certain required parameters.

	kinematic parameters is a cluster whose elements define the kinematic properties of the link. twist angle specifies the angle, in radians, between the rotation axis of the joint of this link and the rotation axis of the next joint with respect to the link. length is the length of the link between the joint of this link and the next joint. rotation angle specifies the angle of rotation, in radians, between this link and the next link along the rotation axis of the joint that connects the links. offset distance specifies the distance from this link to the next link along the axis of the joint that connects the links. joint type specifies the type of the link joint. 0 Revolute—Defines the link as having a constant offset distance and a variable rotation angle. 1 Prismatic (default)—Defines the link as having a constant rotation angle and a variable offset distance. joint coordinate offset specifies an angle, in radians, to offset the rotation angle of the joint. Use this input to allow an arbitrary pose to represent a pose with zero joint angles because such a configuration is not valid typically.
	dynamic parameters is a cluster whose elements define the dynamic properties of the link. mass specifies the mass of the link. gear ratio specifies the ratio of motor velocity to joint velocity. motor inertia specifies the force required to accelerate or decelerate the motor. center of gravity is a three-element array that defines the point on the link at which the weight of the link can be considered to act. viscous friction specifies the force of resistance of joint surfaces in motion through a fluid. positive coulomb friction specifies the force of resistance between dry joint surfaces in the positive direction. negative coulomb friction specifies the force of resistance between dry joint surfaces in the negative direction. inertia matrix specifies the torque that results from inertia on the link.
	error in describes error conditions that occur before this node runs. This input provides standard error in functionality.
	6R type 1 serial arm out is a reference to a 6R type 1 serial robotic arm. You can wire this output to other Robotic Arm VIs.
	error out contains error information. This output provides standard error out functionality.

6R Type 2 Serial Arm

This instance creates 6R type 2 serial arms with certain required parameters.

	kinematic parameters is a cluster whose elements define the kinematic properties of the link. twist angle specifies the angle, in radians, between the rotation axis of the joint of this link and the rotation axis of the next joint with respect to the link. length is the length of the link between the joint of this link and the next joint. rotation angle specifies the angle of rotation, in radians, between this link and the next link along the rotation axis of the joint that connects the links. offset distance specifies the distance from this link to the next link along the axis of the joint that connects the links. joint type specifies the type of the link joint. 0 Revolute—Defines the link as having a constant offset distance and a variable rotation angle. 1 Prismatic (default)—Defines the link as having a constant rotation angle and a variable offset distance. joint coordinate offset specifies an angle, in radians, to offset the rotation angle of the joint. Use this input to allow an arbitrary pose to represent a pose with zero joint angles because such a configuration is not valid typically.
	dynamic parameters is a cluster whose elements define the dynamic properties of the link. mass specifies the mass of the link. gear ratio specifies the ratio of motor velocity to joint velocity. motor inertia specifies the force required to accelerate or decelerate the motor. center of gravity is a three-element array that defines the point on the link at which the weight of the link can be considered to act. viscous friction specifies the force of resistance of joint surfaces in motion through a fluid. positive coulomb friction specifies the force of resistance between dry joint surfaces in the positive direction. negative coulomb friction specifies the force of resistance between dry joint surfaces in the negative direction. inertia matrix specifies the torque that results from inertia on the link.
	error in describes error conditions that occur before this node runs. This input provides standard error in functionality.
	6R type 2 serial arm out is a reference to a 6R type 2 serial robotic arm. You can wire this output to other Robotic Arm VIs.
	error out contains error information. This output provides standard error out functionality.

6R Type 3 Serial Arm

This instance creates 6R type 3 serial arms with certain required parameters.

	kinematic parameters is a cluster whose elements define the kinematic properties of the link. twist angle specifies the angle, in radians, between the rotation axis of the joint of this link and the rotation axis of the next joint with respect to the link. length is the length of the link between the joint of this link and the next joint. rotation angle specifies the angle of rotation, in radians, between this link and the next link along the rotation axis of the joint that connects the links. offset distance specifies the distance from this link to the next link along the axis of the joint that connects the links. joint type specifies the type of the link joint. 0 Revolute—Defines the link as having a constant offset distance and a variable rotation angle. 1 Prismatic (default)—Defines the link as having a constant rotation angle and a variable offset distance. joint coordinate offset specifies an angle, in radians, to offset the rotation angle of the joint. Use this input to allow an arbitrary pose to represent a pose with zero joint angles because such a configuration is not valid typically.
	dynamic parameters is a cluster whose elements define the dynamic properties of the link. mass specifies the mass of the link. gear ratio specifies the ratio of motor velocity to joint velocity. motor inertia specifies the force required to accelerate or decelerate the motor. center of gravity is a three-element array that defines the point on the link at which the weight of the link can be considered to act. viscous friction specifies the force of resistance of joint surfaces in motion through a fluid. positive coulomb friction specifies the force of resistance between dry joint surfaces in the positive direction. negative coulomb friction specifies the force of resistance between dry joint surfaces in the negative direction. inertia matrix specifies the torque that results from inertia on the link.
	error in describes error conditions that occur before this node runs. This input provides standard error in functionality.
	6R type 3 serial arm out is a reference to a 6R type 3 serial robotic arm. You can wire this output to other Robotic Arm VIs.
	error out contains error information. This output provides standard error out functionality.

5R Type 1 Serial Arm

This instance creates 5R type 1 serial arms.

	L3 specifies the length, in meters, of the link between joints three and four in a 5R type 1 serial arm. The default is 0.135.
	L1x specifies the offset, in meters, along the x-axis between joints one and two in a 5R type 1 serial arm. The default is 0.033.
	L1z specifies the offset, in meters, along the z-axis between joints one and two in a 5R type 1 serial arm. The default is 0.11.
	L2 specifies the length, in meters, of the link between joints two and three in a 5R type 1 serial arm. The default is 0.155.
	error in describes error conditions that occur before this node runs. This input provides standard error in functionality.
	L4 specifies the length, in meters, of the link between joints four and five in a 5R type 1 serial arm. The default is 0.1136.
	5R type 1 serial arm out is a reference to a 5R type 1 serial robotic arm. You can wire this output to other Robotic Arm VIs.
	error out contains error information. This output provides standard error out functionality.

Examples

Refer to the following VIs for examples of using the Initialize Serial Arm VI:

• labview\examples\robotics\Simulator\SCARA Arm\SCARA Arm.lvproj
• labview\examples\robotics\Simulator\Puma560\Puma560 Simulator.lvproj