Standard Robot Command Interface
Standard Robot Command Interface
Standard Robot Command Interface (SRCI) is a command-based protocol, using PROFINET. It is an open standard developed and maintained by PROFINET International. SRCI defines many commands for basic and advanced use cases. Some are mandatory and some are optional. UR SRCI implements the set of commands known as the “CORE PROFILE” and is built according to version 1.3 of the SRCI standard.
Check out the steps to set up SRCI between a Siemens PLC and the UR here.
SRCI moves the entire integration of a robotic application to the PLC including the programming of the robot manipulator. With SRCI, functionality for commanding robot motions and providing an interface for robot programming is added on top of all the common functionalities of the PLC such as work cell logic control and safeguarding. This ‘one to rule them all’ philosophy lifts the burden off the shoulders of the integrator of having to master the many ways different robots are integrated. If you are familiar with PLC programming and SRCI you can integrate any robot.
Prerequisites and Usage
To use SRCI with your Universal Robots cobot, specific requirements must be met.
First, you need a PLC with SRCI Controller functionality. Currently, only Siemens provides this functionality, despite SRCI being an open standard. Next, you must install the UR SRCI URCap on your cobot and purchase a license to activate it. For the limited release phase, licenses are available free of charge—contact your local sales representative for more information.
Additionally, the UR SRCI URCap requires PolyScope version 5.15.0 or later. Note that PolyScope X does not currently support SRCI functionality. Finally, SRCI is compatible with all e-Series cobot arms. Read the full list of requirements in the Compatibility subsection.