FT RTDE Input Enable

SUMMARY

FT RTDE Input Enable enables or disables the external force/torque sensor input that is fed to the robot's dynamics model over the RTDE control channel. When enabled, the controller compensates for sensor mass and offset in its gravity and Coriolis calculations.

This is the preferred method for configuring an external F/T sensor. For the legacy API, see Enable External FT Sensor.

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.ft_rtde_input_enable(
    enable=True,
    sensor_mass=0.1,
    sensor_measuring_offset=[0.0, 0.0, 0.01],
    sensor_cog=[0.0, 0.0, 0.005],
)

The Code

Example: Enable and Then Disable the RTDE F/T Input

Enable the RTDE F/T sensor input with mass and offset, 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
sensor_measuring_offset = [0.0, 0.0, 0.01]
sensor_cog = [0.0, 0.0, 0.005]
robot.ft_rtde_input_enable(
    enable=True,
    sensor_mass=sensor_mass,
    sensor_measuring_offset=sensor_measuring_offset,
    sensor_cog=sensor_cog,
)
logger.success(
    f"External F/T sensor input enabled: mass={sensor_mass} kg, "
    f"offset={sensor_measuring_offset} m, CoG={sensor_cog} m"
)

robot.ft_rtde_input_enable(enable=False)
logger.info("External F/T sensor input disabled.")

# Disconnect
robot.disconnect()

The Explanation of the Code

ft_rtde_input_enable configures the controller to include an externally-mounted F/T sensor in its dynamics compensation. When enable=True, the controller subtracts the sensor's gravitational contribution (using sensor_mass, sensor_measuring_offset, and sensor_cog) from the raw F/T readings before they influence motion control. When enable=False, external F/T input is ignored. Returns True on success.

How to Tune the Parameters

Parameter	Type	Default	Description
enable	bool	—	True to enable, False to disable external F/T input.
sensor_mass	float	0.0	Mass of the external F/T sensor [kg].
sensor_measuring_offset	list[float]	[]	3-element offset [x, y, z] from flange to sensor measuring point [m].
sensor_cog	list[float]	[]	3-element center of gravity [x, y, z] of the sensor body [m].

Return Value

Type	Description
bool	True if the configuration was accepted by the controller, False otherwise.

Where to Use the Skill

• External F/T sensor integration — Register a sensor mounted between the flange and the tool
• Gravity compensation — Ensure correct gravity removal from sensor readings when the robot is in different poses

When Not to Use the Skill

Do not use FT RTDE Input Enable when:

• Using the legacy API — the deprecated Enable External FT Sensor may be used for older firmware
• No external sensor is mounted — calling with enable=True and zero sensor mass may introduce unnecessary compensation errors