SWORD integrates CAD with open-source ROS instruments to streamline automation
SAN ANTONIO — Could 13, 2025 —Southwest Analysis Institute (SwRI) is simplifying robotics programming with software program that fashions, plans and executes automation in a user-friendly setting. The SwRI Workbench for Offline Robotics Growth (SWORD™) accelerates robotics growth by decreasing the guide coding required for advanced purposes.
SWORD customers work in a computer-aided design (CAD) 3D setting, leveraging novel robotic modeling to configure programs and plan movement on robotic arms, instruments and work cells. SWORD connects 3D visualizations to built-in robotic working system (ROS) software program modules, quickly changing digital simulations into executable processes and free-space robotic motions deployed in bodily {hardware}.
“We put lots of thought into making a device that simulates robotic motion then converts it right into a set of instructions that run on {hardware},” mentioned Michael Ripperger, who’s main SWORD growth. “It may be utilized by robotics consultants, and it is intuitive design is especially helpful for manufacturing engineers who do not have a coding background.”
SwRI will show SWORD through the Automate present Could 12-15 in Detroit. Attendees can go to Sales space No. 5607 to see a stay demonstration of a robotic arm programmed in SWORD to arrange course of paths for an element formed like a jigsaw puzzle piece within the CAD interface.
“The demo exhibits how SWORD can unlock advanced purposes that may in any other case be value prohibitive and time consuming with guide coding,” Ripperger mentioned.
The standard ROS-Industrial workflow requires builders to be deeply conversant in programming languages and software program code libraries. Even skilled builders throughout the ROS-I ecosystem and past could spend weeks on the preliminary setup of a ROS software.
SwRI manages the ROS-Industrial Americas Consortium and helps ROS-I software program repositories, executing coaching and developer occasions. SwRI developed SWORD so manufacturing engineers with CAD data can leverage advanced capabilities throughout the ROS codebase.
SWORD is a plugin to the FreeCAD software with a graphical toolkit that builds movement planning environments and collision geometries and assessments superior robotic motion-planning purposes.
“A significant aim in growing SWORD is to adapt ROS for manufacturing and industrial audiences in a method that’s extra approachable in a well-recognized setting,” mentioned Matt Robinson, an SwRI program supervisor who oversees the ROS-Industrial Americas Consortium.
Key SWORD options embrace:
• Environmental Modeling: Create or import a CAD mannequin of your robotic, together with fixtures and end-of-arm-tooling. Customers can consider and calculate joint configurations by manipulating and controlling robotic fashions utilizing joint sliders and simulating device motion with an intuitive dragger.
• Robotic Manipulation and Planning: Generate movement plans utilizing business path planners, creating customized pipelines for application-specific habits whereas predicting and avoiding collisions.
• Customized Planning Pipeline: Outline robotic movement utilizing both coordinate-based or joint waypoints, specifying totally different motion phase varieties and movement teams whereas inserting supplementary instructions.
To inquire a few trial license, go to https://sword.swri.org or hearken to Robinson and Ripperger talk about SWORD on the Expertise At present Podcast.
About SwRI:
SwRI is an impartial, nonprofit, utilized analysis and growth group primarily based in San Antonio, Texas, with greater than 3,200 workers and an annual analysis quantity of $915 million. Southwest Analysis Institute and SwRI are registered marks within the U.S. Patent and Trademark Workplace. For extra info, please go to www.swri.org.
