Development of an enhanced and standardized interface for the JACO arm

JACO手臂是由Kinova公司设计和制造的，是一种轻量级的技术辅助机器人，可以固定在电动轮椅、工作站和桌子上。应用程序编程接口（API）可用于连接手臂，并允许程序员配置高级参数并将机器人集成到自己的系统中。尽管JACO的API代表了一个强大的工具，可以与机器人机械手进行信息交流，但它只能用于这种独特的设备。使用标准化的控制和编程库是必要的，以满足Kinova的市场发展计划。ROS（机器人操作系统）是一个健壮的、模块化的、支持良好的开源库，由Willow Garage开发。目前，ROS是帮助软件开发人员创建机器人应用程序的最广泛采用的软件库和工具之一。将JACO与ROS相结合，除了打开Kinova的市场外，还将扩大机械臂的研究和应用能力。因此，该项目包括使用ROS连接JACO的底层机载模块，然后演示如何使用ROS扩展JACO的功能。来自德国舍布鲁克大学智能、交互、集成和跨学科机器人实验室系统IntRoLab的一个团队将与Kinova合作开展这个项目。IntRoLab已经采用ROS作为其机器人软件环境，在许多不同的机器人平台上进行编程和接口智能功能，并且具有有效验证ROS如何以及向JACO提供什么的专业知识。像ROS这样的标准化和增强的接口将赋予JACO重要的功能，并将导致在全球范围内的销售增加。Kinova和IntRoLab首次合作的目标是为重要的科学和技术创新提供富有成效和丰富的合作伙伴关系，这将在交互式机器人的新兴市场中为加拿大带来更好的生活质量和显著的社会和经济效益。

The JACO arm, designed and manufactured by Kinova inc. (Montréal, Canada), is a lightweight, technical assistance robot that can be fixed to a powered wheelchair, a workstation and to a table. An Application Programming Interface (API) is available to interface the arm and allow programmers to configure advanced parameters and integrate the robot to their own systems. Even though JACO's API represents a powerful tool to communicate information to and from the robotic manipulator, it can only be used for this unique device. The use of a standardized control and programming library is necessary to meet Kinova's market development plan. ROS (Robot Operating System) is a robust, modular and well-supported open-source library developed by Willow Garage. Currently, ROS is one, if not the most adopted software libraries and tools to help software developers create robot applications. Interfacing JACO with ROS would broaden the arm's capabilities, both for research and application purposes, in addition of opening Kinova's market. Therefore, the project consists of using ROS to interface JACO's low-level onboard modules, and then demonstrate how it can be used to expand JACO's capabilities. A team from IntRoLab, the Intelligent, Interactive, Integrated and Interdisciplinary Robot Lab Systems of the Université de Sherbrooke, will work with Kinova on this project. IntRoLab has adopted ROS as its robotic software environment for programming and interface intelligent capabilities on many different robotic platforms, and has the expertise to validate efficiently how and what ROS can provide to JACO. A standardized and enhanced interface like ROS will give JACO important capabilities and should result in increased sales around the world. The objective with this first collaboration between Kinova and IntRoLab is to be the start of a fruitful and rich partnership for significant scientific and technological innovations that will lead to better quality of life and significant social and economic benefit to Canada in the emerging market of interactive robotics.