ExternalSensorTCP

A lightweight Python integration for the PickMaster Twin/Lite External Sensor interface. It connects to a TCP-based position sensor, parses acquisition and object data from the incoming text stream, and forwards valid positions to PMTW for robot pick-and-place coordination.

Author: F. LOBERT, ABB
Status: Working
License: MIT

This project is provided as-is with no formal support. Issues and pull requests are welcome for bug fixes and improvements.

Features

• TCP client connection to an external sensor server
• Acquisition trigger and object parsing for PMTW-compatible position messages
• Configurable sensor IP, port, and logger settings
• Safe bounded logging with automatic rotation at 50 MB
• Single-sensor runtime model aligned with the ABB interface contract
• Release package includes the MIT license and a link to this repository for source code and documentation

Known limitation: Only 2D sensors are supported (X, Y, RZ). Z, RX, and RY are always sent to PMTW as 0.0, even though the underlying PMTW external sensor interface supports full 3D poses. See Known limitation: 2D-only positions for details and guidance if you need to add 3D support.

Quick start

1. Copy scripts\ExternalSensorTCP.py, scripts\ExternalSensorInterface.py, scripts\SensorFunctions.py, scripts\SensorLogger.py, and scripts\SensorUI.py into the PickMaster scripts folder %PROGRAMDATA%\ABB\PickMaster\PMScripts\.
2. In PickMaster, add an External Sensor and enter ExternalSensorTCP.py as the script name.
3. Configure the sensor's TCP IP/port and (optionally) logging.

See the documentation for full setup, configuration, protocol, and troubleshooting details.

Documentation

• Documentation index
• Installation
• Configuration
• Protocol
• Architecture
• Logging
• Troubleshooting

Examples

Example configurations and integration guides for common sensor types:

• example/cognex/ — Cognex job file
• example/keyence/ — Keyence programs (calibration and ShapeTrax3A)

Contributing

We welcome improvements, bug reports, and feature requests.

1. Open an issue before starting major work if you want to discuss a change or feature.
2. Create a dedicated branch for your fix or feature
3. Keep changes focused and update the documentation when behavior changes.
4. Bump version in scripts\ExternalSensorTCP.py and update CHANGELOG.md only when the delivered script package changes. README, documentation, CI, or repository-only changes do not need a new version.
5. Open a pull request with a short summary, motivation, and validation notes.

Direct pushes to main are not allowed. Every change must go through a pull request whose CI checks (lint, tests, version format) pass before merging.

Please do not open a pull request without a related issue or a clear change description.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See LICENSE for details.