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Industrial robotic systems are increasingly being used to perform tasks requiring in-loop adaptive behavior to accommodate the demands of data-driven and autonomous manufacturing in the era of Industry 4.0. Achieving effective integration and the full potential of robotic systems presents significant challenges. This paper presents a C++ language-based toolbox, developed to facilitate the integration of industrial robotic arms with server computers, sensors and actuators. The new toolbox, namely the “Interfacing Toolbox for Robotic Arms” (ITRA), is fully flexible and extensible. It is capable of controlling multiple robots simultaneously, thus providing the opportunity for sophisticated manufacturing operations to be coordinated among multiple robots. ITRA can be used to achieve fast adaptive robotic systems, with latency as low as 30ms. Moreover, ITRA is cross-platform, allowing great flexibility between different computer architectures. The paper describes the architecture of ITRA, presents all its functions and gives some application examples.

Industrial robotic systems are increasingly being used to perform tasks requiring in-loop adaptive behavior to accommodate the demands of data-driven and autonomous manufacturing in the era of Industry 4.0. Achieving effective integration and the full potential of robotic systems presents significant challenges. This paper presents a C++ language-based toolbox, developed to facilitate the integration of industrial robotic arms with server computers, sensors and actuators. The new toolbox, namely the “Interfacing Toolbox for Robotic Arms” (ITRA), is fully flexible and extensible. It is capable of controlling multiple robots simultaneously, thus providing the opportunity for sophisticated manufacturing operations to be coordinated among multiple robots. ITRA can be used to achieve fast adaptive robotic systems, with latency as low as 30ms. Moreover, ITRA is cross-platform, allowing great flexibility between different computer architectures. The paper describes the architecture of ITRA, presents all its functions and gives some application examples.

Robotics and autonomous systems (RAS) are playing an increasingly important role across a wide range of industries and applications. Certainly, the definition of robots have expanded drastically and is no longer used to describe only traditional preprogrammed manipulators that have been commonplace in many manufacturing areas. The world is beginning to shift to an era where robots possess higher levels of autonomy, intelligence and adaptability, enabling them to cope with dynamic and challenging environments. This has created an excellent opportunity for smarter robotic systems to be exploited for applications in industrial environments. In this note, we discuss the emerging shift of robotics and its implications in the digital age. We focus particularly on applications within industrial settings, giving our perspectives on future advancements with people and automation working together as an underlying theme.