UR5 ROS2 Control & IK System

This project provides a MATLAB-based framework to control a Universal Robots UR5 using ROS 2, inverse kinematics, and external perception inputs (camera or cage tracking).

It supports:

• Real-time robot state publishing
• ROS2-based communication
• IK-based motion planning
• Debug/manual control mode
• Camera or cage-driven target execution
• Tool output control (gripper)

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BEFORE RUNNING ANY MATLAB SCRIPT

In a terminal of your PC, you MUST first run:

source /opt/ros/humble/setup.bash

ros2 launch ur_robot_driver ur_control.launch.py \
    ur_type:=ur5 \
    robot_ip:=147.250.35.40 \
    launch_rviz:=false

Important

This step must be done before MATLAB scripts.

It starts the UR driver and enables robot communication.

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SYSTEM OVERVIEW

OPTION 1 — Full ROS2 Pipeline (Camera / Cage Control)

Run in MATLAB#1:

publisher.m

Function:

• Publishes robot pose (TransformStamped) in /robot_pose

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Run in MATLAB#2:

main2.m

Function:

• Subscribes to:
  • /instruction_cage (cage tracking)
  • OR /object_positions (camera tracking)
• Receives target positions
• Computes inverse kinematics (IK)
• Sends joint commands to UR5 robot

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How to Operate (Option 1)

• Open terminal → start UR driver (see above)
• Open MATLAB #1 → run publisher.m
• Open MATLAB #2 → run main2.m
• Wait for incoming target point (camera or cage)

When a point is received:

• Press ENTER → robot moves to target
• Stop execution anytime with CTRL + C

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Behavior Rules

• Robot only moves after user confirmation (ENTER)
• Incoming points are throttled (prevents spam commands)
• Robot is locked during execution (prevents collisions)

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OPTION 2 — Debug / Manual IK Mode

Run in MATLAB:

ur5_script.m

Function:

This script:

• Loads UR5 robot model
• Computes IK for a given position
• Sends robot using computed joint angles (qSol)
• Returns robot to home before execution

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Workflow

• Robot is placed or measured at a known pose
• IK is computed for a target position
• Robot is optionally returned to home configuration
• User manually sends joint configuration:

sendJointConfiguration(ur, qSol, 'EndTime', 5);

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Purpose

This mode is used for:

• IK debugging
• Reachability testing
• Calibration validation
• Motion planning verification

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Difference from Option 1

• No camera or cage input
• No ROS2 topic subscription
• Fully manual and deterministic