Package for commisioning and testing of b»Controlled Box

Your realtime ROS 2 gateway for 24/7 applications!

b»Controlled Box is a software module for industrial controllers like the Bosch Rexroth ctrlX CORE, enabling real-time robot control using ROS 2. This package contains instructions to set up and commission your system.

Table of Contents

• System Overview
• Compatibility
• Getting started
• How It Works

System Overview

This system provides a seamless and robust bridge between the high-level ROS 2 ecosystem and the real-time world of industrial automation.

By leveraging the Bosch Rexroth ctrlX AUTOMATION platform, developers can use standard ROS 2 tools like MoveIt2 and RViz to control industrial robots that require real-time, low-latency communication. This architecture combines the flexibility of open-source robotics with the reliability of industrial hardware.

The architecture consists of physical devices: the PC with ROS 2 high-level application (without control), the ctrlX CORE industrial controller, and the physical robot.

1. The PC with ROS 2: A standard PC for application development using the full suite of ROS 2 packages (MoveIt2, RViz, etc.). It communicates with the ctrlX CORE over a standard ROS 2 DDS network.

2. The Industrial Bridge (ctrlX CORE): An industrial-grade controller running ctrlX OS. It uses a real-time Data Layer and our custom Control Bundle (a ros2_control controller manager) to translate ROS 2 commands into real-timesignals for the robot.

3. The Robot: An industrial robot that supports a real-time streaming interface (e.g., EtherCAT, UDP/IP) and is physically connected to the ctrlX CORE.

Compatibility

Robot Controller compatibility

Robot Controller	b»controlled box v3.5.8	b»controlled box v3.5.9
KUKA
KRC4 (RSI)	🔬	✅
KRC5 (RSI)	🔬	✅
EKI	❌	🚧
Universal Robots	✅	🔬
Yaskawa	❌	🚧

Legend:

• ✅ Tested: Fully tested and supported in production.
• 🔬 Preliminary: In development; basic functionality is confirmed in the lab.
• 🚧 To Be Tested: Planned for testing in this version but not yet validated.
• ❌ Not Supported: No support is available or planned for this version.

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b»controlled box compatibility

b»controlled box	ROS 2 Version	CtrlX RT SDK
3.5.9 (Latest)	Jazzy	3.2
3.5.8	Jazzy	3.2

Getting started

Ready to begin? Follow our step-by-step guides to get your system up and running. The process is divided into three main parts:

1. setting up ctrlX CORE device
2. setting up the robot itself - refer to manufacturer-specific instruction
   • KUKA
   • UR
3. setting up b»Controlled Box commissioning environment

How It Works: A Typical Data Flow

Here is the step-by-step journey of a command from your computer to the robot's movement on example of EtherCAT communication:

1. Command Generation: On the development PC, a tool like MoveIt2 or a custom node publishes a command to a ROS 2 topic.
2. Network Transmission: The command travels over the ROS 2 DDS network to our b»controlled box App running on the ctrlX CORE.
3. Controller Management: The ros2_control controller manager inside the b»controlled box receives the command and forwards it to the appropriate controller
4. Data Layer Write: Our custom hardware interface transports the command (e.g., target joint positions) into the ctrlX Data Layer in a real-time-safe context.
5. Real-Time Read & Stream: The EtherCAT Master app, running in a deterministic loop, reads these values from the Data Layer.
6. Robot Movement: The EtherCAT Master streams the commands over the physical bus to the robot, which executes the motion precisely. The robot's feedback (actual position, velocity) travels back through the same path.