Quickstart MiR250

In this document the MiR250 roboter is referred as MiR

There are currently four known ways to access and controll the MiR:

• Using the web-interface
• Using the REST API
• Using a websocket (rosbridge)
• Using LAN connection

Additionally this repository has Docker compatibility. See Working on non-ROS-OS

Web-interface

The MiR can be maintained and controlled by a web-interface. Access ist gained by connecting to the network the MiR is connected to. These networks can be of two different types: The network hosted by the MiR itself or a network the MiR is connected to.

MiR-hosted network

Out of the box the MiR will host its own wifi-network. It will be present, even if the MiR is connected to multiple other networks at the same time. Therefore, it can be used as a backup network, in case other networks fail.

The web-interface can then be accessed via http://mir.com

Additional networks

In order to add an additional network, connect to the MiR-hosted network and open the web-interface. Open the system tab and jump into Settings -> Wifi. Use 'Add connection' to add an additional network.

The web-interface will than be accessed via the IP-address the MiR will be given

⚠️ A connection to the MiR through an additional network is very unstable. Hint: Connect to MiR's own network and use your phone via USB tethering to have internet available on your device.

Authorization

The web-interface will ask for authorization when it will be opened the first time. Once logged in, the credentials are saved via cookies.

Stock username and password are:

Username: Distributor - Password: distributor

REST API

⚠️ Manual Driving Mode not working with REST API

The the web-interface is based on the REST API. In every situation the web-interface is used, the REST API will also work.

Documentation: https://www.mobile-industrial-robots.com/media/13736/mir_mir250_rest_api_21302.pdf

Getting Started

Look at some code-examples in ./rest_api. There is a unfinished library in ./rest_api/test.py to easy-controll the API. Code-snippets are also there.

Websocket (rosbridge)

The rosbridge is a service hosted on the MiR that enables interaction with the ROS-system via network (a websocket). Thr MiR hosts a server and any network-device can connect as a client. There are java, javascript and python libraries that help with the client-server communication. For communication the JSON-standart is used.

Documentation: http://wiki.ros.org/rosbridge_suite

Python-Client: https://github.com/gramaziokohler/roslibpy

Getting Started

0. Having python3 and pip3 installed.

1. Install python-client for rosbridge

   $ pip install roslibpy

2. Connect to MiR's network

3. Run ./rosbridge/e_inspecting.py

   $ python3 ./rosbridge/e_inspecting.py

   If a huge list of endpoints is returned, client-server communication is working.

4. Run ./rosbridge/e_manual_control.py

   $ python3 ./rosbridge/e_manual_control.py

   Follow instructions and you should be able to manually control the MiR

For further informations, look at the package ./rosbridge/mir.py

Integrate MiR in other ROS system

The MiR can also act as a node in another ROS system.

0. Having done Getting Started for rosbridge

1. Install python-node for ROS

   $ pip install rospy

2. Make sure you are connected to MiR's network

3. Make sure your ROS core is running

4. Run ./rosbridge/e_ros.py

   $ python3 ./rosbridge/e_ros.py

   Now, the topics /mir/robotState and /mir/cmd_vel are available.

For further informations, look at the package ./rosbridge/mir_ros.py

LAN connection

When having a wired LAN connection to the MiR, all ROS functionality is available using the MiR as a ROS Master.

export ROS_MASTER_URI=http://192.168.12.20:11311
rostopic list

This will show all available topics. Further reading: http://wiki.ros.org/ROS/Tutorials/MultipleMachines

Working on non-ROS-OS (Docker)

Docker can be used to obtain ROS-functionality on machines that are not nativly running ROS (e.g. Ubuntu 22.04 for noetic). To use this repository with docker an image using the ./Dockerfile needs to be build. (of course, docker needs to be installed)

docker buid -t mir .

Then start a docker container. The option -it is used to have an interactive terminal. --net="host" will use the host network, so the MiR can be found via IP.

docker run -it --net="host" mir 

If you need a second terminal while container is running, use this:

docker exec -it <CONTAINER_ID> bash
$ source /opt/ros/<ROS_DISTRO>/setup.bash

Additional Links

• Quickstart: https://www.mobile-industrial-robots.com/media/12722/mir250_quick_start_1-4_en.pdf
• Detailed Guide: https://www.mobile-industrial-robots.com/media/12739/mir250_user_guide_1-4_en.pdf
• Web-interface Guide: https://www.mobile-industrial-robots.com/media/13758/mir-robot-reference-guide-23_en.pdf