Enable External FT Sensor
SUMMARY
Enable External FT Sensor enables or disables external force/torque sensor compensation using the legacy UR RTDE API.
DEPRECATED
This method uses an older API. For new integrations, use FT RTDE Input Enable, which supports the full sensor geometry (mass, measuring offset, and center of gravity).
SUPPORTED ROBOTS
This skill is currently supported on Universal Robots only. Calling this method on other robot brands will raise a NotImplementedError.
The Skill
robot.enable_external_ft_sensor(enable=True, sensor_mass=0.1)The Code
Example: Enable and Disable the External F/T Sensor (Legacy API)
Enable the sensor with a mass value, then disable it.
from loguru import logger
from telekinesis.synapse.robots.manipulators import universal_robots
robot_ip = "192.168.1.2" # replace with your robot's IP
robot = universal_robots.UniversalRobotsUR10E()
# Connect
robot.connect(ip=robot_ip)
sensor_mass = 0.1
robot.enable_external_ft_sensor(enable=True, sensor_mass=sensor_mass)
logger.success(f"External F/T sensor enabled: mass={sensor_mass} kg.")
robot.enable_external_ft_sensor(enable=False)
logger.info("External F/T sensor disabled.")
# Disconnect
robot.disconnect()The Explanation of the Code
enable_external_ft_sensor is the legacy version of external F/T sensor configuration. When enable=True, the controller subtracts the gravitational contribution of the sensor mass from the F/T readings. Unlike FT RTDE Input Enable, this API accepts only sensor_mass and does not support full sensor geometry parameters. Returns True on success.
How to Tune the Parameters
| Parameter | Type | Default | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
enable | bool | — | True to enable, False to disable external F/T compensation. |
sensor_mass | float | 0.0 | Mass of the external sensor [kg] used for gravity compensation. |
sensor_measuring_offset | list[float] | [] | Legacy offset parameter (may not be supported on all firmware versions). |
sensor_cog | list[float] | [] | Legacy center-of-gravity parameter (may not be supported on all firmware versions). |
Return Value
| Type | Description |
|---|---|
bool | True if the configuration was accepted by the controller, False otherwise. |
Where to Use the Skill
- Legacy firmware compatibility — Use when the target robot firmware does not support the newer RTDE F/T input API
When Not to Use the Skill
Do not use Enable External FT Sensor when:
- Using current firmware — prefer FT RTDE Input Enable for full sensor geometry support