Release 2.5.2 of KINOVA KORTEX repository in sync with KINOVA Gen3 release v2.5.2

Release 2.5.2 is a release for the Gen3 robot only. The Gen3 lite robot still uses the previous 2.3.2 SWU.

It is important to note that:

• The Gen3 2.5.2 SWU file cannot be uploaded on a Gen3 lite
• This release package uses the API 2.6.0. It can be used with the Gen3 lite robot, but all API calls since KortexAPI2.3.0 require a more recent SWU to work, which are only available for the Gen3 robot.
• The released features only apply to Gen3 robots, not for Gen3 lite

Download links

Firmware packages:

• SWU 2.5.2 for the Gen3 here
• SWU 2.3.2 for the Gen3 lite here

Release notes:

• for the Gen3 (SWU 2.5.2) english and french
• for the Gen3 lite (SWU 2.3.2) here

User Guides:

• for the Gen3 (SWU 2.5.2) here
• for the Gen3 lite (SWU 2.3.2) here

What's new

Robot features (see Release notes for more details)

• Added Brake support for Gen3 arms
• Disable Bluetooth by default
• Journal Export

Repository and API features

• Updated the auto-generated documentation for the API.
• You can download for reference the .PROTO files used to generate the 2.6.0 API on Artifactory.

What's fixed

• Now possible to send torque commands in TORQUE_HIGH_VELOCITY control
  mode
• fixed SetCoggingFeedforwardMode and GetCoggingFeedforwardMode API calls
• fixed voltage reading on Automatic power on variants of the Gen3

Release 2.4.0 of KINOVA KORTEX repository in sync with KINOVA Gen3 release v2.4.0

Release 2.4.0 is a release for the Gen3 robot only. The Gen3 lite robot still uses the previous 2.3.2 SWU.

It is important to note that:

• The Gen3 2.4.0 SWU file cannot be uploaded on a Gen3 lite
• This release package uses the API 2.5.0. It can be used with the Gen3 lite robot, but the newer API calls requires the 2.4.0 SWU to work, which is only available for the Gen3 robot.
• The released features only apply to Gen3 robots, not for Gen3 lite

Download links

Firmware packages:

• SWU 2.4.0 for the Gen3 here
• SWU 2.3.2 for the Gen3 lite here

Release notes:

• for the Gen3 (SWU 2.4.0) english and french
• for the Gen3 lite (SWU 2.3.2) here

You can download the most recent User Guide:

• for the Gen3 (SWU 2.4.0) here
• for the Gen3 lite (SWU 2.3.2) here

What's new

Robot features (see Release notes for more details)

• Disable Wi-Fi and Bluetooth
• Automatic Power On variant of the Gen3

Repository and API features

• Updated the auto-generated documentation for the API.
• You can download for reference the .PROTO files used to generate the 2.5.0 API on Artifactory.

Hotfix Release 2.3.2 of the Gen3 lite arm firmware package

Release 2.3.2 is a hotfix release only for Gen3 lite robots.

The 2.3.0 examples, API and User Guide are used with this load. See here for download links.

Download links

You can download the 2.3.2 firmware package for the Gen3 lite here.

The 2.3.0 firmware package for the Gen3 is unchanged and can still be downloaded here.

What's fixed

• Resolved an intermittent crash at power on

Hotfix Release 2.3.1 of the Gen3 lite arm firmware package

Release 2.3.1 is a hotfix release only for Gen3 lite robots.

The 2.3.0 examples, API and User Guide are used with this load. See here for download links.

Download links

You can download the 2.3.1 firmware package for the Gen3 lite here.

The 2.3.0 firmware package for the Gen3 is unchanged and can still be downloaded here.

What's fixed

• Adjustement of firmware safety thresholds for Hall Magnetic Mismatch, Magnetic Position and Gripper joint limit low

Release 2.3.0 of KINOVA KORTEX repository in sync with KINOVA Gen3 and Gen3 lite release v2.3.0

Release 2.3.0 is a common release for both the Gen3 and Gen3 lite robots.

It is important to note that:

• The API is common to both robots
• The released features apply to both robots
• The firmware files are nonetheless specific per robot. The Gen3 SWU file cannot be uploaded on a Gen3 lite, and vice versa.

Download links

You can download the 2.3.0 firmware package:

• for the Gen3 here
• for the Gen3 lite here

You can download the 2.3.0 release notes:

• for the Gen3 here
• for the Gen3 lite here

You can download the most recent User Guide:

• for the Gen3 here
• for the Gen3 lite here

What's new

Robot features (see Release notes for more details)

• Joint and cartesian waypoint support
• Modbus communication protocol support for control commands
• Improvements to Torque Control

Repository and API features

• Added examples for Cartesian and Joint Waypoint trajectories using the Kortex API in C++ and Python.
• Added MODBUS ICD, documentation and Python example.
• Updated the auto-generated documentation for the API.
• You can now download for reference the .PROTO files used to generate the 2.3.0 API on Artifactory.

Release 2.2.0 of KINOVA KORTEX repository in sync with KINOVA Gen3 release v2.2.0

Release 2.2.0 of KINOVA KORTEX repository in sync with KINOVA Gen3 Ultra lightweight robot version 2.2.0

This release is only for the Gen3, not for the Gen3 lite. The latest version for Gen3 lite is 2.1.0.

Download links

You can download the 2.2.0 firmware package for the Gen3 here.
You can download the 2.2.0 release notes for the Gen3 here.
You can download the most recent User Guide here.

What's new

Robot features

• New Gen3 6DOF robot model
• Added Fixed Base and No Vision Module configurations for the Gen3 arm
• Faster robot movement:
  • Up to 50 cm/s in Cartesian Linear Twist
  • Up to 100 deg/s in Cartesian Angular Twist
  • Up to 80 deg/s in Joint Speeds for big actuators
  • Up to 70 deg/s in Joint Speeds for small actuators
• Configurable soft limits in the WebApp (you can access the tab in Configurations->Speed Limits):
  
• Teaching mode was added and can be accessed when Creating a new Sequence in the Actions page. You can read more about how the Teaching mode functions in the User Guide.
  
• Controller mappings are now configurable (you can access the tab in Configurations->Controllers):
  

Repository and API features

• The C++ Kortex API is now hosted on our Conan Artifactory server and Conan installation procedure has been added. Once Conan is installed on your machine, you won't have to manually download and extract the API, Conan will take care of that. You can read more about the Conan package manager here. You can still use the old way of building the Kortex API examples and download the API on Artifactory.
• Support for more compilers and architectures was added with release 2.2 API builds, namely:
  • GCC on Artik 710, IMX6 and NVidia Jetson Xavier
  • Windows MSVC 2015, 2017 and 2019
• A new deprecation message was added to the API for some functions. In C++, you'll get a compilation warning, and in Python you'll get a runtime warning when you use these functions. The messages tell you what functions you should use instead.
• Updated the auto-generated documentation for the API.
• Updated the installation, setup and build instructions.

Release 2.1.0 of KINOVA KORTEX repository in sync with KINOVA Gen3 lite initial release v2.1.1

This release 2.1.0 of the KORTEX examples adds compatibility for the initial release of a new 6DOF Kortex arm, the Gen3 lite.

Note for Gen3 users

This release does not add features or examples for the Gen3. It only adds compatibility for 6DOF arms. You can continue using the 2.0.0 API, or migrate to the 2.1.0 API (see below for download links) as it is backward compatible with the 2.0.X firmware packages for Gen3.

What's new

• Changed the folders names to reflect what examples can be run only on Gen3 and not on Gen3 lite.
• Added a matrix for download links to latest versions to the main README file.
• Updated the auto-generated documentation for the API.

Download links

You can download the 2.1.1 firmware package for the Gen3 lite only here.
You can download the 2.1.1 release notes for the Gen3 lite here.
You can download the 2.1.0 Kortex API for the Gen3 and Gen3 lite here.

Release 2.0.1 of the Gen3 arm firmware package

Release 2.0.1 of KINOVA Gen3 Ultra lightweight robot firmware package version 2.0.1

Download links

You can download the 2.0.1 firmware package for the Gen3 here.
You can download the 2.0.1 release notes for the Gen3 here.
The Kortex API version doesn't change. The 2.0.0 API is used with the 2.0.1 firmware package.

What's new

The 2.0.1 firmware package fixes a bug where the arm was not detected upon booting.

Release 2.0.0 of the KINOVA KORTEX repository

Release 2.0.0 of KINOVA KORTEX repository in sync with KINOVA Gen3 Ultra lightweight robot version 2.0.0

Download links

You can download the 2.0.0 firmware package for the Gen3 here.
You can download the 2.0.0 release notes for the Gen3 here.
You can download the 2.0.0 Kortex API for the Gen3 here.

Compatibility break with v1.1.6

The Kortex API in v2.0.0 now uses TCP transport for all services except Cyclic services (BaseCyclic, ActuatorCyclic), meaning:

• In C++, you will have to replace the TransportClientUdp class with TransportClientTcp.
  You can have a look at one of the C++ cyclic examples to see the change. You can read more about the Transport classes in the dedicated Markdown file.
• In Python, you will have to replace the UDPTransport class with TCPTransport. You can have a look at the new utilities.py helper to see the change. You can read more about the Transport classes in the dedicated Markdown file.

What's new

• New Python and C++ examples have been added for:
  • The Interconnect module's Expansion IO's : Ethernet bridging, UART expansion, GPIO expansion and I2C expansion
  • The Robotiq gripper position and velocity control
  • Low-level torque control and low-level actuator control
  • Vision module configuration
  • Angular velocity control of all the joints
• A new utilities external Python module has been added as a helper to automatically create the Kortex API objects. We plan on adding internal helpers in the Kortex API in a future release.
• Updated the auto-generated documentation for the API.
• Updated the installation, setup and build instructions.

Release 1.1.6 of KINOVA KORTEX repository

Release 1.1.6 of KINOVA KORTEX repository in sync with KINOVA Gen3 Ultra lightweight robot version 1.1.6. The changes include:

• Updated KINOVA KORTEX C++ API documentation for Kortex API v1.1.6
• Updated KINOVA KORTEX Python API documentation for Kortex API v1.1.6
• Adapted the examples to the new library name : kortex_api
• Updated the comments in the examples
• Updated the Google Drive link to download the Kortex API v1.1.6
• Added a script to run all the examples for a given language, or for both Python and C++