Control Robotiq adaptive gripper through ROS-i UR driver

[rob.j...@gmail.com]

Hello all,

I am working on a pick and place application with a UR5 (Control box software v3.0.15547) and a Robotiq 2-finger 85 Adaptive gripper. By following the UR ROS-i tutorials, I can control the UR5 through MoveIt. I have now connected the Robotiq gripper directly to the UR controller via serial communication (USB) [1]. My question is this: can I control the Robotiq gripper through the UR controller using the UR driver from ROS-i? Does it need to be modified?

And if it is not possible, will I need to connect the gripper directly to my PC via Modbus TCP to use the robotiq ROS-i package [2]? 

[1] Quick Start for UR5 and Robotiq
[2] Robotiq tutorial

Thanks for the help,

Rob

[rob.j...@gmail.com]

Update...

Easiest way I've found to control a C-model Robotiq gripper with ROS-i is to follow this tutorial [1], and plug the serial-to-USB converter directly into a USB port of your PC instead of the UR controller. That tutorial isn't finished, but the other Robotiq tutorial [2] gives commands for starting nodes to control a gripper over Modbus TCP. Change the appropriate commands to the new protocol (e.g. "rosrun robotiq_c_model_control CModelRtuNode.py /dev/ttyUSB0") and you should be good to go!

One note, after running the command

$ usermod -a -G dialout YOURUSERNAME

Make sure you restart your computer for the changes to take place.

Cheers,
Rob

[1] Robotiq RTU tutorial
[2] Robotiq TCP tutorial

[ryan....@gmail.com]

Dear Rob,

I am new to ROS and robotiq gripper. I would like to question if I want to use ros package to control robotiq 2 finger 85 gripper, do I need to also use Adaptive Gripper C-Model Controller? Thanks.

Best Regards,
Ryan

rob.j...@gmail.com於 2015年10月3日星期六 UTC+8上午3時21分02秒寫道：

[ryan....@gmail.com]

Dear Rob,

To clarify, I need to control the robot arm and gripper at the same time through ROS package. So, do i need to buy a Adaptive gripper c - model controller? Thanks.

Best Regards,
Ryan

ryan....@gmail.com於 2016年3月1日星期二 UTC+8下午3時20分17秒寫道：