EGM Not Executing Movements - Issue with Protobuf Messages in ABB RobotStudio

[bamburaptor]

Hi everyone,

I’m currently working on a project involving ABB RobotStudio where I’m using External Guided Motion (EGM) to control a robot through UDP messages. The robot should move based on the joint positions I send from Simulink, but it’s not executing the movements as expected. Here’s a detailed breakdown of what I’ve done so far:

Setup:

I’m using Simulink to generate the joint position data, which is then serialized using Protobuf. The serialized data is sent via UDP to the robot.

`/* Includes_BEGIN /
#include <math.h>
#include
#include
#include "egm.pb.h"
#include <Windows.h>
#include <sysinfoapi.h>
/ Includes_END */

/* Externs_BEGIN /
/ extern double func(double a); /
/ Externs_END */

void sensor_proto_Start_wrapper(SimStruct S)
{
/ Start_BEGIN /
/

• Custom Start code goes here.
  /
  / Start_END */
  }

void sensor_proto_Outputs_wrapper(const real_T *J1,
const real_T *J2,
const real_T *J3,
const real_T *J4,
const real_T *J5,
const real_T *J6,
uint8_T *serialized_sensor_message,
int32_T *sensor_message_byte_len,
SimStruct S)
{
/ Output_BEGIN */
static unsigned int sequenceNumber = 0;

abb::egm::EgmHeader *header = new abb::egm::EgmHeader();
header->set_seqno(sequenceNumber++);
header->set_tm(GetTickCount());
header->set_mtype(::abb::egm::EgmHeader_MessageType_MSGTYPE_CORRECTION);

abb::egm::EgmJoints *joint_var = new abb::egm::EgmJoints();
joint_var->add_joints(J1[0]);
joint_var->add_joints(J2[0]);
joint_var->add_joints(J3[0]);
joint_var->add_joints(J4[0]);
joint_var->add_joints(J5[0]);
joint_var->add_joints(J6[0]);

abb::egm::EgmPlanned *planned = new abb::egm::EgmPlanned();
//planned.mutable_joints()->CopyFrom(joint_var);
planned->set_allocated_joints(joint_var);

abb::egm::EgmSensor *sensor_message = new abb::egm::EgmSensor ();
sensor_message->set_allocated_header(header);
sensor_message->set_allocated_planned(planned);

*sensor_message_byte_len = sensor_message->ByteSizeLong();
sensor_message->SerializeToArray(serialized_sensor_message,sensor_message_byte_len);
/ Output_END */
}

void sensor_proto_Terminate_wrapper(SimStruct S)
{
/ Terminate_BEGIN /
/

• Custom Terminate code goes here.
  /
  / Terminate_END */
  }`

Protobuf Setup:

I’ve defined the Protobuf messages in a .proto file, which includes EgmSensor, EgmHeader, and EgmPlanned messages. These messages are built correctly in C++ and serialized before sending.

RobotStudio Configuration:

I’ve configured the Transmission Protocol in RobotStudio to receive messages on the correct IP address and port (127.0.0.1:5514).
The robot appears to receive the messages (no errors in the UDP communication), but it doesn’t execute the movement.
made on local host cause i'm working on the same computer

Problem:

Despite everything seeming correct, the robot does not move to the new joint positions. I’ve confirmed that the messages are being sent, but the robot stays in its initial position.

What I’ve Tried:

Ensured that the values of the joint positions are within valid limits.
Checked the serialization process to ensure that the data is correctly formatted.
Monitored the logs in RobotStudio, but haven’t found any clear indications of what might be wrong.

ROBOT STUDIO SETTINGS ARE
rapid program
`MODULE TestyEGM
VAR egmident egmID1;
VAR egmstate egmSt1;

CONST egm_minmax egm_minmax_joint:=[-1,1];
CONST robtarget p10:=[[364.35,0,594],[0.5,0,0.866025,0],[0,0,0,0],[9E+09,9E+09,9E+09,9E+09,9E+09,9E+09]];
CONST robtarget p30:=[[374,0,630],[0.707112,0,0.707102,0],[0,0,0,1],[9E+09,9E+09,9E+09,9E+09,9E+09,9E+09]];

PROC main()
    !procedura
    EGM_JOINT_MOVEMENT;
ENDPROC

PROC EGM_JOINT_MOVEMENT()

    IF egmSt1=EGM_STATE_DISCONNECTED THEN
        TPWrite "preparing controller for egm";
    ENDIF
    ! Ottieni un ID per l'EGM
    EGMGetId egmID1;

    ! Ottieni lo stato dell'EGM
    egmSt1:=EGMGetState(egmID1);
    TPWrite "EGM state: "\num:=egmSt1;

    ! Verifica se l'EGM connesso
    IF egmSt1<=EGM_STATE_CONNECTED THEN

        EGMSetupUC ROB_1,egmID1,"default","TestyEGM"\Joint;
        TPWrite "EGM is connected, now link to UDP";
    ELSE
        TPWrite "EGM not connected";

    ENDIF

    EGMStreamStart egmID1\SampleRate:=4;
    ! Muovi il robot alle posizioni iniziali
    MoveJ p10,v100,fine,tool0;
    !WaitTime 5;
    MoveJ p30,v100,fine,tool0;



        ! Avvia lo streaming, deseriallizzando i messaggi dal device esterno
        EGMActJoint egmID1,\StreamStart,\Tool:=tool0,\WObj:=wobj0,
            \J1:=egm_minmax_joint,
            \J2:=egm_minmax_joint,
            \J3:=egm_minmax_joint,
            \J4:=egm_minmax_joint,
            \J5:=egm_minmax_joint,
            \J6:=egm_minmax_joint;

        WaitTime 3;

        WHILE egmSt1<>EGM_STATE_RUNNING DO
            egmSt1:=EGMGetState(egmID1);
            TPWrite "Waiting for EGM to be ready. Current state: "\num:=egmSt1;
            WaitTime 0.5;
        ENDWHILE

         WaitTime 3;
        ! Verifica se l'EGM è pronto a partire
        IF egmSt1=EGM_STATE_RUNNING THEN
            TPWrite "EGM is ready to run. Starting EGMRunJoint.";
        ELSE
            TPWrite "EGM not ready. State: "\num:=egmSt1;
            EXIT;
        ENDIF
         WaitTime 3;
         
    WHILE TRUE DO
        !Avvia la corsa EGM in modalità  joint
        EGMRunJoint egmID1,EGM_STOP_RAMP_DOWN,\NoWaitCond,\J1,\J2,\J3,\J4,\J5,\J6;
    ENDWHILE

        ! Controlla di nuovo lo stato dell'EGM
        IF egmSt1=EGM_STATE_CONNECTED THEN
            TPWrite "waiting movement";
        ENDIF

        ! Verifica se l'EGM  in esecuzione
        IF egmSt1=EGM_STATE_RUNNING THEN
            TPWrite "EGM is running in Position Guidance mode.";
        ELSE
            TPWrite "EGM state: "\num:=egmSt1;
        ENDIF

        ! Ferma l'EGM e resettalo
        IF egmSt1<=EGM_STATE_RUNNING THEN
            TPWrite "resetting EGM...";
            EGMReset egmID1;
            TPWrite "EGM reset complete.";
        ENDIF

    !in caso esce dal while check dell'errore
ERROR
    IF ERRNO=ERR_UDPUC_COMM THEN
        TPWrite "egm has no external device";
    ENDIF
ENDPROC

ENDMODULE`

Is there something specific I need to configure in RobotStudio to handle these EGM messages correctly?
or something it's wrong? i can't figure out

[gavanderhoorn]

I'll leave this open, but please realise this repository is for the ROS 1 ABB robot driver. It's not a generic EGM discussion forum.

I'd advise you to post on ABB's own fora instead.

[bamburaptor]

thanks for leaving this open, i'll move also to ABB, but if someone can help will be great!

[bamburaptor]

solved

[gavanderhoorn]

So this is where you explain to us how you solved it :)

[bamburaptor]

basically egm tasks, in my case "testyEGM" requires to receive data to its local port, so i set simulink to send data to remote port 1 and make robot studio receive to local port one as showed in image
then it's all perfect