I’m just getting started with UR and have an E-series cobot I’m programming to do a machine tending application. I have some experience with LabView, but have yet to branch into text-based programming.
As I’ve been browsing the forum, I’ve seen a lot of people use URScript or Python to run their cobots instead of using the Polyscope graphical programming. What are the advantages of URScript or Python over Polyscope? Does one or the other have greater capabilities? I can see that Polyscope is easier to learn, but what are your thoughts on which control system is best? If I were to go with URScript or Python, how would I even get started?
Thank you for any advice you have for this programming rookie.
For machine tending, using the Polyscope GUI is almost always the best and fastest means of programming your robot. You may occasionally want to insert a line or two of URScript code. This can be done easily from the GUI Script node.
POLYSCOPE is best for most users. It is a GUI that in the background creates URScript code. There are many checks and balances that Polyscope performs to help you program properly without causing issues. For repetitive processes this is a great method of programming.
URScript is the the code that is actually executed by the robot controller. There are a few activities that are not available in the Polyscope GUI and are only accessible through URScript. URScript can be used as a complete file of code, a few lines of code, or even a single lines of code interspersed with a Polyscope program.
Python is a means of having an external computer generate the URScript code that you want to execute. This is usually used by people who are adapting to variations in the external world around the robot or want to profile the robot moves in real time. Python is really not a different way of programming the robot. It is a means of communicating information to/from the robot.