Flexiv RDK

Flexiv RDK (Robotic Development Kit), a key component of the Flexiv Robotic Software Platform, is a powerful development toolkit that enables the users to create complex and customized robotic applications using APIs that provide both low-level real-time (RT) and high-level non-real-time (NRT) access to Flexiv robots.

References

Flexiv RDK Home Page is the main reference. It contains important information including user manual and API documentation.

Compatibility Overview

Supported OS	Supported processor	Supported language	Required compiler kit
Linux (Ubuntu 20.04 and above)	x86_64, arm64	C++, Python	build-essential
macOS 12 and above	arm64	C++, Python	Xcode Command Line Tools
Windows 10 and above	x86_64	C++, Python	MSVC v14.2+

Quick Start

The C++ and Python RDK libraries are packed into a unified modern CMake project named flexiv_rdk, which can be configured and installed using CMake on all supported OS.

Note

• The instructions below serve as a quick reference. You can find the full documentation at Flexiv RDK Manual.
• You might need to turn off your computer's firewall or whitelist the RDK programs to be able to establish connection with the robot.

Install on Linux

1. In a new Terminal, install compiler kit, CMake (with GUI), Python interpreter, and Python package manager:

   sudo apt install build-essential cmake cmake-qt-gui python3 python3-pip -y
   

2. Choose a directory for installing C++ RDK library and all its dependencies. This directory can be under system path or not, depending on whether you want RDK to be globally discoverable by CMake. For example, a new folder named rdk_install under the home directory.

3. In a new Terminal, run the provided script to compile and install all C++ dependencies to the installation directory chosen in step 2:

   cd flexiv_rdk/thirdparty
   bash build_and_install_dependencies.sh ~/rdk_install
   

   NOTE: Internet connection is required for this step.

4. In a new Terminal, configure flexiv_rdk library as a CMake project:

   cd flexiv_rdk
   mkdir build && cd build
   cmake .. -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=~/rdk_install -DINSTALL_PYTHON_RDK=ON
   

   NOTE: -D followed by CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX sets the CMake variable that specifies the path of the installation directory. -D followed by INSTALL_PYTHON_RDK=ON enables the installation of the Python library alongside the C++ library. Alternatively, this configuration step can be done using CMake GUI.

5. Install flexiv_rdk libraries (C++ and Python):

   cd flexiv_rdk/build
   cmake --build . --target install --config Release
   

   The C++ library will be installed to CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX path, which may or may not be globally discoverable by CMake. The Python library is installed to the user site packages path, which is globally discoverable by the Python interpreter.

Install on macOS

1. Install compiler kit: In a new Terminal, enter command xcode-select to invoke the installation of Xcode Command Line Tools, then follow the prompted window to finish the installation.

2. Install CMake (with GUI): Download cmake-3.x.x-macos-universal.dmg from CMake download page and install the dmg file. The minimum required version is 3.16.3. When done, start CMake from Launchpad and navigate to Tools -> How to Install For Command Line Use. Then follow the instruction "Or, to install symlinks to '/usr/local/bin', run:" to install cmake and cmake-gui commands for use in Terminal.

3. Install Python interpreter and package manager (replace "3.x" with the actual Python3 version you wish to use):

   brew install [email protected]
   

4. The rest are identical to steps 2 and below in Install on Linux.

Install on Windows

1. Install compiler kit: Download and install Microsoft Visual Studio 2019 (MSVC v14.2) or above. Choose "Desktop development with C++" under the Workloads tab during installation. You only need to keep the following components for the selected workload:
   • MSVC ... C++ x64/x86 build tools (Latest)
   • C++ CMake tools for Windows
   • Windows 10 SDK or Windows 11 SDK, depending on your actual Windows version
2. Install CMake (with GUI): Download cmake-3.x.x-windows-x86_64.msi from CMake download page and install the msi file. The minimum required version is 3.16.3. Add CMake to system PATH when prompted, so that cmake and cmake-gui command can be used from Command Prompt or a bash emulator.
3. Install bash emulator: Download and install Git for Windows, which comes with a bash emulator Git Bash.
4. Within the bash emulator, the rest are identical to steps 2 and below in Install on Linux.

Link to installed library from a user program

After the C++ RDK library is installed, it can be found as a CMake target and linked to from other CMake projects. Using the provided examples project for instance::

cd flexiv_rdk/example
mkdir build && cd build
cmake .. -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=~/rdk_install
cmake --build . --config Release -j 4

NOTE: -D followed by CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX tells the user project's CMake where to find the installed C++ RDK library. The instruction above applies to all supported OS.

Run example programs

C++

To run a compiled example C++ program:

cd flexiv_rdk/example/build
./<program_name> [robot_serial_number]

For example:

./basics1_display_robot_states Rizon4s-123456

NOTE: sudo is only required if the real-time scheduler API flexiv::rdk::Scheduler is used.

Python

To run a example Python program:

cd flexiv_rdk/example_py
python3 <program_name>.py [robot_serial_number]

For example:

python3 ./basics1_display_robot_states.py Rizon4s-123456

API Documentation

The complete and detailed API documentation of the latest release can be found at https://www.flexiv.com/software/rdk/api. The API documentation of a previous release can be generated manually using Doxygen. For example, on Linux:

sudo apt install doxygen-latex graphviz
cd flexiv_rdk
git checkout <previous_release_tag>
doxygen doc/Doxyfile.in

The generated API documentation is under flexiv_rdk/doc/html/ directory. Open any html file with your browser to view it.