Gen 3

User Guide
KINOVA® Gen3
Ultra lightweight
robot
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Contents
Welcome.............................................................................................................................................................................. 6
About this document...................................................................................................................................................... 7
Acronyms and abbreviations.......................................................................................................................................8
Warranty.............................................................................................................................................................................11
Safety directives and warnings................................................................................................................................ 12
Disclaimer..........................................................................................................................................................................14
Risk assessment............................................................................................................................................................. 15
Normal use definition................................................................................................................................................... 16
Getting started.................................................................................................................................................................17
What's in the case?.................................................................................................................................................................... 17
Manipulating the robot joints when the robot is powered off...................................................................... 18
Robot mounting options......................................................................................................................................................... 18
Mounting the robot on a tabletop........................................................................................................................ 19
Mounting the robot on a horizontal surface without the table clamp.........................................20
Robot power adapter and E-stop.....................................................................................................................................23
Powering on the robot............................................................................................................................................................23
Power-up, booting, and initialization sequence.......................................................................................................24
Resetting the robot to factory settings.......................................................................................................................25
Operating the robot.................................................................................................................................................................. 25
Supported gamepad controllers........................................................................................................................... 25
Putting the robot into admittance using the interface buttons.........................................................31
Connecting a computer to the robot.............................................................................................................................32
Connecting a computer to the robot via Ethernet (for the first time)..........................................32
KINOVA® KORTEX™ Web App.................................................................................................................................34
Changing the robot wired connection IP address......................................................................................36
Connecting a computer to the robot via Wi-Fi............................................................................................36
Robot components........................................................................................................................................................ 38
Base......................................................................................................................................................................................................38
Controller quick connect system..........................................................................................................................39
Controller connector panel.......................................................................................................................................42
Actuators.......................................................................................................................................................................................... 43
Interface module.........................................................................................................................................................................44
Vision module............................................................................................................................................................................... 46

Dimensions, specifications, and capabilities....................................................................................................... 48
Schematic and dimensions - 7 DoF spherical wrist............................................................................................ 48
Technical Specifications..........................................................................................................................................................49
Sensors.............................................................................................................................................................................................. 52
Base readings available.............................................................................................................................................. 53
Actuators readings available...................................................................................................................................54
Interface readings available.....................................................................................................................................54
End effector readings available.............................................................................................................................54
Effective workspace..................................................................................................................................................................55
Payload vs. workspace............................................................................................................................................................56
Interface module expansion - tips for installing tools.................................................................................... 57

End effector reference design...........................................................................................................................................58
Remove end cap from Interface module...................................................................................................................60
Robotiq Adaptive Grippers installation (optional).................................................................................................. 61
Interface module bolting pattern.................................................................................................................................... 63
Interface module user expansion connector pinout........................................................................................... 63
Spring-loaded connector pinout....................................................................................................................................... 64
Robot communications and network interfaces................................................................................................66
Accessing Vision module color and depth streams......................................................................................... 68
Concepts and terminology.........................................................................................................................................69

Robot key concepts...................................................................................................................................................................69
Terminology reference............................................................................................................................................................. 71
General mathematics and robotics...................................................................................................................... 71
Features, components and functionalities......................................................................................................73
Control and Operation Modes................................................................................................................................. 74
Control features............................................................................................................................................................. 76
Singularity avoidance............................................................................................................................................................... 76
Protection zones..........................................................................................................................................................................76
Control modes overview.............................................................................................................................................78

Trajectory control modes......................................................................................................................................................78
Joystick control modes........................................................................................................................................................... 78
Admittance modes.....................................................................................................................................................................79
Configurations and safeties...................................................................................................................................... 80

Configurable parameters...................................................................................................................................................... 80
Base configuration..........................................................................................................................................................80
Actuators configuration............................................................................................................................................... 81
Device configuration......................................................................................................................................................82
Vision configuration.......................................................................................................................................................82
Safety items................................................................................................................................................................................... 83
Base (controller) safeties...........................................................................................................................................83
Actuators safeties...........................................................................................................................................................84
Interface module safeties..........................................................................................................................................87

KINOVA® KORTEX™ Web App User Guide...........................................................................................................88
Introduction.....................................................................................................................................................................................88
Purpose............................................................................................................................................................................................. 88
Device availability of Web App......................................................................................................................................... 88
Platform and browser support.........................................................................................................................................90
User login.........................................................................................................................................................................................90
Web App layout and navigation.......................................................................................................................................92
Robot control panel.................................................................................................................................................................. 95
Cartesian virtual joystick control..........................................................................................................................95
Angular virtual joystick control............................................................................................................................. 97
Virtual joystick keyboard shortcuts....................................................................................................................98
Admittance modes panel...........................................................................................................................................99
Main pages....................................................................................................................................................................................100
Notifications...................................................................................................................................................................... 100
Camera...................................................................................................................................................................................101
Configurations................................................................................................................................................................... 101
Actions.................................................................................................................................................................................. 104
Protection Zones............................................................................................................................................................. 110
Controllers........................................................................................................................................................................... 113
Networks............................................................................................................................................................................... 114
Users........................................................................................................................................................................................115
System Information.......................................................................................................................................................117
Monitoring............................................................................................................................................................................118
Upgrade................................................................................................................................................................................120
Snapshot tool................................................................................................................................................................................121
KINOVA® KORTEX™ Developer Guide.................................................................................................................. 122

Introduction................................................................................................................................................................................... 122
Devices and services...............................................................................................................................................................122
Available services..................................................................................................................................................................... 123
Users, connections and sessions....................................................................................................................................124
Services, methods, and messages................................................................................................................................ 124
®
KINOVA KORTEX™ API and Google Protocol Buffer........................................................................................ 124
Service client-server model............................................................................................................................................... 125
Notifications.................................................................................................................................................................................. 125
Blocking and non-blocking calls..................................................................................................................................... 125
Robot servoing modes.......................................................................................................................................................... 126
High-level servoing.......................................................................................................................................................126
Low-level servoing........................................................................................................................................................ 127
Device routing............................................................................................................................................................................. 128
Error management.................................................................................................................................................................. 128
®
KINOVA KORTEX™ GitHub repository........................................................................................................................128
® ®
KINOVA KORTEX™ ROS and KINOVA KORTEX™ ROS GitHub overview............................................... 129
Working with camera streams using GStreamer............................................................................................... 129
Windows command examples............................................................................................................................. 130
Linux command examples...................................................................................................................................... 130

Guidance for advanced users.................................................................................................................................. 132
7 DoF singularity configurations.................................................................................................................................... 132
Reference frames and transformations.................................................................................................................... 133
Homogeneous transforms...................................................................................................................................... 133
Homogeneous transform matrices - 7 DoF spherical wrist..............................................................134
Standard robot frames..............................................................................................................................................136
Dynamic parameters of the 7 DoF robot..................................................................................................................137
Maintenance................................................................................................................................................................... 142
Troubleshooting............................................................................................................................................................144
Base controller LEDs.............................................................................................................................................................. 144
How to respond to safety warnings and errors.................................................................................................. 145
Contacting Kinova support..................................................................................................................................................147

KINOVA® Gen3 Ultra lightweight robot User Guide 6
Welcome
®
Welcome to the KINOVA Gen3 Ultra lightweight robot.
Thank you for choosing our robot as a tool for your pathbreaking research needs.
This document is meant to provide you with all the information you need to get up and running
with your new robot and get the most out of it.
We are here to help you in your journey. If you need any help or have any questions about how
to get to where you're going with the robot, please feel free to contact our support team:
www.kinovarobotics.com/support

About this document

User Guide contents and warnings.
Read all instructions before using this product and any third-party options.
Read all warnings on the product and in this guide.

This document contains information regarding product setup and operation. It is intended for
Kinova product end users.
All third-party product names, logos, and brands appearing herein are the property of their
respective owners and are for identification purposes only. Their use in this document is not
meant to imply endorsement by Kinova.
Kinova has made every effort to ensure that this document is accurate, accessible and complete.
As part of our commitment to continuous improvement, we welcome any comments or
suggestions at www.kinovarobotics.com/support.
From time to time, Kinova will make udpates to this document. To download the most
up to date version of this document, visit the Kinova Technical resources page at
www.kinovarobotics.com/knowledge-hub/all-kinova-products.
For general inquiries please contact us at +1 (514) 277-3777

Acronyms and abbreviations

API
Application Programming Interface
CIDR
Classless Inter-Domain Routing
CISPR
Comité International Spécial des Perturbations Radioélectriques
EE
End Effector
EMI
Electromagnetic Interference
FOV
Field of View
fps
frames per second
GPIO
General-Purpose Input/Output
HDMI
High-Definition Multimedia Interface
IC
Integrated Circuit
IEEE
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
2
I C
Inter-Integrated Circuit (bus)
I/O
Input / Output
IP
Ingress Protection or Internet Protocol
IT
Information Technology

ISO
International Organization for Standardization
LED
Light-Emitting Diode
n/c
no connection
NVRAM
Non-Volatile Random-Access Memory
PC
Personal Computer
Rx
Receiver
ROS
Robot Operating System
RPC
Remote Procedure Call
RPM
Revolutions Per Minute
RS
Recommended Standard
SSID
Service Set IDentifier
Tx
Transmitter
UART
Universal Asynchronous Receiver-Transmitter
UDP
User Datagram Protocol
USB
Universal Serial Bus
UL
Underwriters Laboratory

UV
Ultraviolet light
VLAN
Virtual Local Area Network
WEEE
Waste of Electrical and Electronic Equipment

Warranty
This section describes the Kinova warranty terms.
Subject to the terms of this clause, Kinova warrants to End User that the Products are free of
defects in materials and workmanship that materially affect their performance for a period of
two (2) years from the date Kinova ships the Products to the End User ("Delivery Date").
Kinova agrees to repair or replace (at Kinova's option) all Products which fail to conform to the
relevant warranty provided that:
1. notification of the defect is received by Kinova within the warranty period specified above;
2. allegedly defective Products are returned to Kinova, (at the End User’s expense, with
Kinova's prior authorization) within thirty (30) days of the defect becoming apparent;
3. the Products have not been altered, modified or subject to misuse, incorrect installation,
maintenance, neglect, accident or damage caused by excessive current or used with
incompatible parts;
4. the End User is not in default under any of its obligations under this Agreement;
5. replacement Products must have the benefit of the applicable warranty for the remainder of
the applicable warranty period.
If Kinova diligently repairs or replaces the Products in accordance with this section, it will be
deemed to have no further liability for a breach of the relevant warranty.
Allegedly defective Products returned to Kinova in accordance with this contract will, if found
by Kinova on examination not to be defective, be returned to the End User. Kinova may charge a
fee for examination and testing.
The warranty cannot be assigned or transferred and is to the sole benefit of the End User.
Where the Products have been manufactured and supplied to Kinova by a third party, any
warranty granted to Kinova in respect of the Products may be passed on to the End User.
Kinova is entitled in its absolute discretion to refund the price of the defective Products in the
event that such price has already been paid.

Safety directives and warnings

®
Directives, warnings and safety considerations for the KINOVA Gen3 Ultra lightweight
robot.
IMPORTANT
Before operating the robot for the first time, ensure that you have read, completely understood
and complied with all of the following directives, warnings and cautionary notes. Failure to do so
may result in serious injury or death to the user, damage to the robot, or a reduction in its useful
life.
Table 1: Safety
There is no mechanical brake on the robot. If the power supply is cut or an unrecoverable error
occurs, be aware that the robot will fall. However, mechanisms are in place within the actuators will
slow the descent in the absence of external power.
- risk assessment, before integration of the robot into a given

For your personal application.
safety, and that of others,
it is strongly - hazard analysis, before integration into an environment which includes
recommended that the atomized flammable dust / particles or explosive / flammable gases, etc.
following be carried out:
- use the robot near a flame or source of heat.

For your personal - exceed the maximum specified payload.
safety, and that of others,
never: - attempt to stop the robot or prevent its movement by holding it (except
in admittance mode).
- install the robot base within 20 cm of your body (base
contains a Wi-Fi transmitter)
- use the robot to submerge objects in water.

- the robot does not encounter any obstacles (persons or objects).
Although inherently safe in its default configuration, disabling the robot
safeties requires that the user be responsible for ensuring a secure
working space.
- the end effector never collides with a hard surface.
- the grasping of objects by gripper fingers is stable, to prevent the risk of
dropped or thrown objects (if using a gripper).
For your personal
safety, and that of others, - the wrist is supported before turning the power off (otherwise it may fall
always ensure that: and cause damage).
- eye protection is worn when manipulating fragile objects with the robot.
- the working area is safe when containers of hot (or extremely cold)
liquids are to be manipulated with the robot.
- the robot has its base securely fixed to the work surface when in
operation.
- the robot working area is safe if sharp objects are to handled by
the robot.
- before using the robot, it is confirmed that there are no warnings.
- the robot is protected adequately before being used near any
messy process (e.g. welding or painting)

Do not power on the product if any external damage to the Vision module is apparent.
Do not attempt to open the Vision module.
The Vision module depth sensor includes a Class 1 infrared laser. To avoid eyesight injury from
wide angle infrared laser light, do not view the front-facing surface of the Vision module through
magnifying optical elements.
The robot should not be used without the provided emergency stop connected.
Do not operate the robot when the relative humidity exceeds the maximum specified limit. In such a
case, put down any object in the gripper, bring the robot to a resting position and wait until the humidity
decreases to an allowable value.
The robot is not certified for use in applications in sterile environments (e.g. food production,
pharmaceuticals, medical, surgical).
Table 2: General
Do not connect the USB ports on the base to one another.
It is recommended that surge protection be used to protect the robot against external surges on
the main AC line which might be caused by lightning or other abnormal conditions.
The base must be mounted as specified in the installation section, with particular attention to the
bolt pattern, strength requirements and any table or tripod-specific mounting.
The end effector must be mounted as specified in the installation section (including bolt pattern,
power requirements, etc.).
Table 3: Maintenance
Immediately following exposure to saline air conditions, contact Kinova support to schedule
maintenance by authorized Kinova technician.
The controller mating interface must be kept free of dust and moisture to protect the electrical
contacts. Wipe down the surface with a soft dry cloth to keep the surface of the interface clean.
Do not use the robot in heavy rain. If this happens, contact Kinova support to schedule
maintenance by an authorized Kinova technician.

Disclaimer
®
KINOVA and the Kinova logo are registered trademarks of Kinova inc., herein referred to as
Kinova.
KORTEX™ is a trademark of Kinova inc.
All other brand and product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective
owners.
The mention of a product name does not necessarily imply an endorsement by Kinova. This
manual is furnished under a lease agreement and may only be copied or used in accordance with
the terms of such lease agreement. Except as permitted by the lease agreement, no part of this
publication may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted, modified in any
form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, recording, or otherwise, without prior written
consent of Kinova.
The content of this manual is furnished for informational use only and is subject to change
without notice. It should not be construed as a commitment by Kinova. Kinova assumes no
responsibility or liability for any errors or inaccuracies that may appear in this document.
Changes are periodically made to the information herein and will be incorporated into new
editions of this publication. Kinova may make improvements and/or changes to the products
and/or software programs described in this publication at any time.
Any questions or comments concerning this document, the information it contains or the
product it describes may be addressed through the support page on the Kinova website:
www.kinovarobotics.com/support
Kinova would like to thank you for your contribution, while retaining the right to use or
distribute whatever information you supply in any way it believes appropriate (without
incurring any obligations to you).

Risk assessment
Before proceeding it is imperative that a risk assessment be performed (note that this is
required by law in many countries). As it is a machine, the safety of the robot depends on how
well it is integrated with its environment and with other machines.
The recommended international standards for conducting a risk assessment are as follows:
• ISO 12100
• ISO 10218-2
The risk assessment should take into consideration all activities carried out in the context of the
robot application, including (but not limited to):
• teaching the robot (during set-up)
• development of the robot installation
• robot troubleshooting
• robot maintenance
• everyday robot operation
The risk assessment must be completed before integration of the robot in an application and
should address configuration settings as well as the need for any additional emergency stop
buttons.

Normal use definition

This section describes the normal use of the robot.
The definition of normal use includes lifting, pushing, pulling, or manipulating (without a gripper
or other end effector attached) a maximum load of:
• mid-range, continuous: 4 kg
• full-reach, temporary: 4.5 kg
• full-reach, continuous 1.1 kg
The robot is designed to hold, move, and manipulate objects in the user environment. However,
for some loads in certain positions (near maximum load and reach), holding an object for an
extended period of time may result in heating. To protect the robot hardware from excessive
heat, safety thresholds shut down the robot if the temperature rises above a certain threshold.
®
Before this is reached, an API notifcation will be rendered as a user alert on the KINOVA
KORTEX™ Web App.
The robot includes a number of temperature-related safeties:
• base - CPU core and ambient temperatures
• actuators - CPU core and motor temperatures
• interface module - CPU core and gripper motor temperatures
If you receive any temperature warnings, put down any object as soon as is practical and place
the robot into a stable rest position to allow it to cool down.
During normal operation, the robot joints are subject to heating. The joints are normally
covered in plastic rings to protect the user from the metal surfaces which may become hot.

Getting started
This section describes how to get started with the arm.
The pages that follow lead you through getting started with the robot. This includes:
• unboxing
• physically mounting the robot securely
• provisioning electrical power
• controlling the robot using an Xbox gamepad
• moving the robot in admittance using physical buttons
• connecting a computer to the robot
• ®
connecting to the KINOVA KORTEX™ Web App
What's in the case?

®
This section describes the KINOVA Gen3 Ultra lightweight robot shipping case contents.
Figure 1: shipping case contents

The shipping case contains the following contents.
At the top of the interior of the box, you will find the Quick Start Guide. The Quick Start Guide is
a large visual guide printed on sturdy cardboard.
The Quick Start Guide provides a handy reference for first steps, and should have you up and
running within 30 minutes. Make sure to keep the Quick Start Guide as a reference for people in
your team or organization getting newly acquainted with your robot. The Quick Start Guide is
also available on the Kinova website Knowledge Hub:
www.kinovarobotics.com/knowledge-hub/all-kinova-products
The contents of the box are arranged in three layers from top to bottom. These packing layers
can be removed from the box to unpack the contents.
In the top layer:
• Robot
In the second layer:
• Power adapter and cable with integrated emergency stop (E-stop) button
• Mounting plate and robot controller
The bottom area contains:
• Ethernet (RJ-45) cable
• Power cable
• Bag with useful tools and fasteners
º hex keys: 3, 4 and 5 mm
º M5 x 40 mm screws (qty. 4)
An Xbox gamepad and cable are shipped with the robot, but packaged separately.
There is also space for storage of papers and other items.
Note: The shipping case is also useful for transportation and storage of the robot. Make sure to
save it and the packing layers within for future use.
Manipulating the robot joints when the robot is powered off

This describes how to manipulate the robot joints when the robot is powered off.
When the robot is powered on and not in admittance mode, the actuators will hold their
position and prevent the joints from moving in response to external forces and torques. When
the power is on, the arm will not move except when commanded. The arm joints are stiff and you
will not be able to rotate the joints with your hands.
When the robot is powered off, as it is when you first receive the robot, the joints can be moved
by hand slowly.
Note: If you move the joints too quickly, you will hear a mechanical noise, and feel resistance.
This is a a passive mechanism within the large actuators designed to slow the descent of the
robot when the power is cut. This is only triggered if the joints turn too quickly, above a certain
threshold with the power off. If you turn slowly, this will not be triggered, and you will be able to
move the joints by hand freely.
This moveability of the joints when the robot is unpowered is useful when taking the robot out
of the box and setting it up to get started. This lets you arrange the joints of the robot into a
stable, balanced position prior to mounting and powering on the robot.

Robot mounting options

This section describes the physical mounting options for the robot.
The first step to getting started with the arm after unboxing is to physically mount the arm in a
stable manner so that the arm can be connected and used.
The most basic mounting option uses the mounting plate clamped to a tabletop, but it is possible
to mount the arm in different ways, depending on the needs of your particular application.
Mounting the robot on a tabletop

This section describes the procedure for mounting the robot oriented vertically on the
edge of a tabletop using the clamp.
Before you begin
The robot should have the joints of the robot unfolded so that it is in a stable, balanced
position ready for mounting.
About this task
The robot is mounted to a tabletop using the base mounting plate and a table clamp.
Note: The table must be large and sturdy to support a tabletop edge mounting. If the table is
too small or too flimsy, the weight of the robot at the table edge combined with the movement
vibrations may render it unstable.
Procedure
1. Place the base controller and mounting plate on the tabletop, next to the edge.
Note: You can place the controller in one of two orientations. Either the connector panel
facing out toward the edge of the table, or the front side of the base controller facing out.
2. Turn the tightening knob on the table clamp to open up the clamp and then slide the clamp
into the slot between the mounting plate and the bottom of the base controller.
3. Turn the tightening knob by hand until the mounting plant is firmly clamped to the table top.
Note: Do not overtorque.
4. Make sure that the clamp at the bottom of the robot is opened. While holding the robot, you

5. Once the robot is fully lowered onto the base controller, close the clamp to secure the robot
in place on the base controller..
Results
The robot is now mounted on the tabletop.
What to do next
You can now proceed to connect the robot to the power supply and E-stop.
Mounting the robot on a horizontal surface without the table clamp

This section describes how to mount the robot on a horizontal surface without the table
clamp..
About this task
Here, we describe mounting the robot in a vertical orientation on a flat, horizontal surface,
affixing the mounting plate or controller base to the surface using screws and sunk holes
in the surface.
Procedure
1. Choose whether to mount the robot base controller directly onto the surface, or whether to
use the mounting plate.
2. Using either the mounting plate bolting pattern or the controller bolting pattern or as a
guide, drill holes into the surface. If the controller is to be mounted directly to the surface,
the holes will have to be drilled all the way through the mounting surface.

3. Use appropriate screws to mount either the base controller or the mounting plate to the
surface. If the base controller is mounted directly, the screws will need to go through the
mounting surface from the other side.
Controller mounting plate bolting pattern

This section describes the bolting pattern of the mounting plate. This is useful when
mounting the robot to a surface using the mounting plate.
Overview
The mounting plate is attached to the bottom of the base controller. The mounting plate has
two sets of M8 screw holes (4) and one set of counter-sunk M6 screw holes (4) available for
mounting the plate to a surface.
Mounting details
Figure 2: Mounting plate bolting pattern
Base controller underside bolting pattern

This section describes the bolting pattern on the underside of the base controller. This is
useful when you want to affix the robot base directly to a surface.
Overview
The underside of the controller has four M6 screw holes for mounting purposes. These holes are
used for attaching the mounting plate to the controller. When the mounting plate is removed,
these holes can be used for mounting the controller directly to a surface. In that case, holes
must be drilled through the surface so that screws can go through from the other side and into
the controller mounting holes from underneath.
One of the screw holes in the controller base features an inset locking screw. Turning the
locking screw clockwise to the end of its travel (using a 3 mm hex key) while the base shell is
clamped to the controller will lock the two together and prevent the clamp from being opened.

Mounting details
Figure 3: Base and mounting holes

Figure 4: Base mounting holes pattern
Robot power adapter and E-stop

This section describes the power adapter and E-stop.
The power adapter allows power to be supplied to the robot using a wall outlet as a source. The
cable from the power adapter connects to the power connector on the base controller using a
Lumberg 0322 08 connector.
The cable from the power adapter to the robot includes an integrated push-button E-stop
connected in series. The E-stop allows users to shut down the robot quickly in case of an
emergency.
To engage the E-stop, press down on the red button on top of the E-stop. This will cut the power
to the robot, causing it to shut it down.
When the power is cut, the robot will descend. There are mechanisms within the large
actuators to slow the fall of the arm for safety purposes. However, it is recommended that if
possible, users cradle the robot as it falls.
To disengage the E-stop, rotate the button clockwise until it pops up.
Powering on the robot

This section describes how to connect the robot to an electrical power source.
The robot is powered by a 24V power supply (P/N DTM300PW240D2).

To power up the robot:

1. Connect the captive cable from the power supply to the circular Lumberg connector on the
rear connector panel in the controller of the robot, rotating the outer cylindrical locking shell
of the connector until it is just tight enough to secure the connector.
2. Plug the power supply into a wall outlet.
3. Push the power button and hold in for 3 seconds to power up the robot. This will initiate the
power up sequence.
Note: When the robot is properly powered on, the blue power LED will be illuminated green.
Note: Do NOT hold the power button down for too long. Holding the button for 10 seconds
will result in a factory reset.
Power-up, booting, and initialization sequence

This section describes the LED indications during the power-up sequence.
When the power button is held in to initiate a power-up, the robot will go through a regular boot
up and initialization sequence.
The base LEDs will provide visual feedback as to the progress through the sequence, as follows:
Table 4: Power-up sequence LEDs indications
Sequence step LEDs indications
• Blue power LED, blinking

System booting
• Status LED, off
• Blue power LED, solid

System initializing
• Status LED, amber, solid
• Blue power LED, off

System operating normally
• Status LED, green, solid
From start to finish, the process should take no more than 30 seconds, except during a firmware
update.

Resetting the robot to factory settings

This section describes how to reset the robot to factory settings.
About this task
At some point you may find it useful or necessary to roll back configurations on the robot
to factory defaults. This will return the robot to the state it was in when you received the
robot.
Note: This procedure assumes you are starting with the robot powered on. If the robot is
already powered off, you can start at step 3.
Note: Be sure that that this is what you want to do. This will erase all user-defined
configurations including protection zones, network settings, actions, user profiles, etc.
Procedure
1. Place the robot in a stable position.
2. Press and hold the base power button to power off the robot.
3. Press and hold the power button for 10 seconds.
4. The green status LED will go on to confirm the factory reset.
5. Release the power button. The robot will then boot with factory default configuration
settings.
Operating the robot

This section gives an overview of the methods of controlling the robot.
There are three ways to operate the robot:
• physical gamepad (Xbox controller)
®
• virtual joysticks over a network connection (KINOVA KORTEX™ Web App virtual joysticks)
• programmatically (KINOVA® KORTEX™ API)
Supported gamepad controllers

This section describes the supported gamepad controllers of the robot.
The robot currently supports the Xbox gamepad (USB wired connection only; Bluetooth for
future development).
Connecting an Xbox gamepad to the robot

This section describes how to connect an Xbox gamepad to the robot.
Before you begin
You will need:
• Xbox gamepad
• micro USB to USB-A cable
About this task
An Xbox gamepad can be used to operate the robot.
Note: The robot currently only supports a wired connection for the gamepad.
Procedure
1. Connect the micro USB connector plug of the cable into the micro USB port on the Xbox
gamepad.
2. Connect the USB-A end of the cable into one of the two USB-A connectors on the base
controller of the robot.

Default gamepad control mappings - Xbox gamepad

This section describes the default controller mappings between the Xbox gamepad and
the actions on the robot.
Gamepad mappings overview
The robot has three default control mappings for the Xbox gamepad.
1. Twist linear (controls the robot by velocity)
2. Twist angular (controls the robot by velocity)
3. Joint (controls the robot joint by joint by velocity)
General controls
Some controls apply the same across all mappings. These are controls for:
• Entering an admittance mode
• Changing the active control mapping to the next or previous mapping in the list
• Opening and closing the gripper
• Clearing faults - a fault state will make itself known through a red LED on the base controller
of the robot. Pressing the left bumper clears the fault and returns the LED to green.
• Applying emergency stop - this will stop the robot.
• Reaching home or retract position
The available control mappings are in a sequential list, starting with Twist linear
and ending with Joint, as listed above. Pressing the View or Menu buttons will cause the active
control mapping to switch to the previous or next control mapping on the list. The list can be
thought of as circular - selecting previous when on the first mapping will cycle around to the last
mapping, and conversely, selecting the next mappingwhen on the last mapping will cycle around
to the first.
Table 5: General control mappings (common controls applying to ALL mappings)
Action Control
Retract pose A (hold down)
Reach defined pose
Home pose B (hold down)
button
Navigate controller previous View button
mappings next Menu button
close Left
Gripper command trigger
open Right
Clear fault Left
bumper
Stop robot Right

Figure 5: General control mappings with Xbox gamepad
Twist linear mapping

Twist linear is the default gamepad mapping when the robot is turned on and the
controller is connected. In this mode the end effector is translated in space with respect
to the Cartesian base frame. The end effector orientation does not change in this
mapping. The user controls the linear velocity of the end effector, including the linear
speed.
Table 6: Twist linear - general controls plus:
Action Control
Cartesian X
Toggle admittance button
Nullspace Y
Cartesian translation + left

Left stick
command Y - right

Action Control
Cartesian translation - down

command X + up
Cartesian translation - down

Right stick
command Z + up
Speed decrease down D-pad
increase up
Figure 6: Twist linear controls with Xbox gamepad
Twist angular mapping

Twist angular can be thought of as a companion to the Twist linear control mode. In Twist
linear, the end effector is translated with respect to the base reference frame while leaving the
orientation unchanged. In Twist angular, the control is pure rotation of the end effector within
the end effector reference frame, around the three axes of that frame. The user controls the
angular velocity of the end effector in relation to those three axes.

Twist linear and Twist angular together specify a twist (consisting of three linear velocity terms
and three angular velocity terms) to be applied to the end effector (Cartesian control).
Table 7: Twist angular - general controls plus:
Action Control
Cartesian X
Toggle admittance button
Nullspace Y
Cartesian rotation yaw right left

command Y (yaw) yaw left right
L stick
Cartesian rotation pitch up down
command X (pitch) pitch down up
Cartesian rotation roll left left

R stick
command Z (roll) roll right right
Speed decrease down D-pad
increase up

Figure 7: Twist angular controls with Xbox gamepad
Joint mapping
Joint control offers direct control of the rotational movement of the joint actuators. In this
mode you can toggle through the joints (actuators) one by one, starting with the first and going
through in increasing order. On reaching the last actuator, it will then cycle back to the first. The
joint angular speed (ω) can be controlled.
Table 8: Joint - general controls plus:
Action Control
Toggle admittance Joint X button
ω- left
Joint speed L stick
ω+ right
increase up
Speed
decrease down
D-pad
Previous left
Navigate joints
Next right

Figure 8: Joint controls with Xbox gamepad
Putting the robot into admittance using the interface buttons

This section describes how to put the robot into admittance modes using the buttons on
the sides of the interface module.
The interface module has two buttons on its side that can be used to temporarily put the robot
into admittance. This can be a convenient way to take ahold of the robot and move it into a
desired position, or to explore the flexibility of the arm at a particular position.
The two interface module buttons each offer access to one admittance mode.
Figure 9: Interface module admittance buttons
The button with the raised solid circle shape is for Cartesian admittance, in which the end
effector of the robot moves in response to force exerted on it.
The button with the indented or ring shape is for null space admittance. In this mode the end
effector stays in a fixed position and orientation, while the other joints move within the null
space available at the given end effector (seven degrees of freedom to specify six coordinates of
position and orientation gives a free degree of liberty to move within different solutions of the
inverse kinematics of a given pose).
To engage one of the admittance modes, hold down the button and exert a moderate amount
of force on the robot. The arm will be in admittance mode as long as the button is held down.

When the button is released, the robot will no longer be in admittance mode and will return to
the previously engaged control mode.
Connecting a computer to the robot

This section gives an overview of the methods available to connect a computer to the
robotic arm.
There are two ways of connecting a computer to the robotic arm:
• Ethernet (direct or over a small local network)
• Wi-Fi
Connecting a computer to the robot via Ethernet (for the first time)
This section describes the procedure to connect a computer to the robot via a wired
connection for the first time. This procedure requires some configuration of the
computer's network adapter.
About this task
This procedure is required to connect a computer to the computer for the first time via
a wired Ethernet connection. This requires some configuration of the computer. The
following procedure describes details for Windows 10. The details will be somewhat
different for other OS platforms, but the high level steps will be the same.
Procedure
1. Connect an RJ-45 Ethernet cable from your computer's wired network adapter to the base
controller Ethernet port.
2. On your computer, open Control Panel > Network and Internet > Network and Sharing
Center

3. Select Change adapter settings
4. Select wired Ethernet adapter (i.e. Local Area Connection) and choose Properties.
5. Select Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) and choose Properties.
6. Select Use the following IP address and enter IPv4 address:192.168.1.11 and Subnet
mask: 255.255.255.0

7. Press OK.
Results
Your computer is now connected physically to the robot and ready to communicate.
What to do next
You can now access the Web App.
KINOVA® KORTEX™ Web App

®
This section gives an overview of the KINOVA KORTEX™ Web App.
®
The KINOVA KORTEX™ Web App provides a HTML Web browser based GUI to interact with
the arm and perform basic tasks without using programming commands.
The Web App allows users to control and configure the robot via the GUI.
This includes:
• Real-time control of the robot in different modes using different virtual joysticks
• Setting the arm into admittance modes to manipulate the arm using external forces / torques
• Viewing the feed from the Vision module color sensor
• Configuring
º robot performance parameters and safety thresholds

º protection zones
º network settings
º backup management
º user profiles
• Reading
º system information
º notifications
• Defining robot poses and trajectories
• Managing control mappings for physical controllers
• Monitoring robot parameters
• Upgrading the robotic arm firmware
The Web App can be run from either a desktop / laptop PC connected by wired Ethernet to the
arm, or from any computer on the same local network. This includes local Wi-Fi neworks. The
Web App is a responsive web application, and can be run from both mobile devices (smartphone
or tablet) or desktop computers.
®
The Web app is described in detail in the KINOVA KORTEX™ Web App User Guide section.
®
Accessing the KINOVA KORTEX™ Web App
This section describes how to launch the Web App.
Before you begin
You should be using a computer that is connected to the robot either over a wired (direct
or over local area network) or wireless connection and you should have the IP address of
the robot on the network over which you are connected.
About this task
Procedure
1. From the computer web browser, enter the appropriate IP address for the arm base to
access the Web App.
Note: By default, the IP address to use here is 192.168.1.10. If you have configured
the arm so that the computer and arm are both connected to the same local area network,
whether wired or over Wi-Fi, use the new configured IP address.
2. If the connection between the arm and computer is configured correctly, the Web
application should launch and present a login window. In the login window, enter the
following credentials:
• username: admin
• password: admin
3. Click CONNECT. The application will initialize. If all is successful, the application will open to
a Monitoring screen that displays live parameters for the robot.

Changing the robot wired connection IP address

This section describes how to change the robot's wired connection IP address.
Before you begin
You need to have already connected the computer to a wired network connection to
configure the robot for a wired connection (you will need information about the available
IP addresses on your local area network).
About this task
This procedure is used to configure the robot so that you can connect a computer to the
robot remotely over your local area network.
Note: For security reasons, we do not recommend connecting the robot to a WAN. The network
should be a simple local area network with low traffic.
Procedure
1. Open the Web application and go to the Networks page. Open the Ethernet tab.
2. Modify the IPv4 address, IPv4 subnet mask, and IPv4 gateway to match an available IP
address with the IP address range of your network.
Note: Once you modify the robot network parameters, your client computer will lose
connection with the robotic arm.
3. Physically disconnect the robot from your computer and connect it via Ethernet cable to
your local network at a network switch.
4. Restore appropriate local network settings on your computer and connect your computer to
your network.
5. From your computer, ping the robot at the newly configured robot IP address.
What to do next
From your computer web browser, enter the new robot IP address to access the Web
App.
Connecting a computer to the robot via Wi-Fi

This section describes the procedure to connect a computer to the robot via Wi-Fi .
Before you begin
You will need to have a wired connection between the computer and robot to carry out this
procedure.

About this task

The robot features a Wi-Fi adapter. This allows the arm to connect to a local Wi-Fi
connection. Once this connection is established, other devices on the same Wi-Fi network
can then connect to the robot wirelessly.
Procedure
1. On a computer connected to the arm via Ethernet, open the Web App and connect to the
arm.
2. Select Networks in the main navigation panel of the Web App to go to the Networks page.
3. Select the Wi-Fi tab.
4. The Wi-Fi tab will list all of the detected Wi-Fi networks. Choose one of the networks, and
click the corresponding Connect text button.
Note: It is not recommended to connect to Wi-Fi networks which are potentially insecure.
Security settings of at least WPA2 are recommended.
5. A pop-up window will appear to sign in to the network, with information about the signal
strength and security settings. Enter the password for the network and click the CONNECT
button. Take note of the IPv4 address that the robotic arm obtains after clicking the
CONNECT button
6. On any wireless device connected to the same Wi-Fi network, open a Web browser and type
the IP address that the robot obtained at Step 5 (This address corresponds to the robot's
address on the Wi-Fi network).
7. At the Login screen, enter the appropriate user name and password, and click the CONNECT
button.
Results
You are now connected to the Web Application through the Wi-Fi network adapter of the
robot. You can now configure, monitor, and control the robot wirelessly.
Warning: A Wi-Fi connection is not recommended for 1 kHz (low-level) control of the robot due
to potential latency issues - a wired connection must be used for this purpose.

Robot components
®
This page describes the main components of the KINOVA Gen3 Ultra lightweight robot.
The robot consists of:
• base (base shell and controller)
• actuators
• interface module
• vision module
The following image shows the main components of the robot.
Figure 10: Robot main components (7 DoF model shown)
Base
This section describes the purpose, components, and functionalities of the robot base.
The robot is secured onto its physical mounting point and connects to power and control signals
using a two-part structure consisting of:
• base shell
• controller
The base shell is the bottom part of the robotic arm shell connected to the first actuator. It
mounts onto the controller and is secured in place with an integrated clamp.
The controller includes a connector panel at the rear for connecting to power and external
devices. The controller has four mounting holes (M6) on its underside. The controller is shipped

connected with screws to a circular mounting plate with through holes for mounting to surfaces
and a slot to put a clamp between the robot and the plate for tabletop mounting.
Figure 11: Mounting plate
The mounting plate can also be removed from the controller by removing the screws, giving
access to the four mounting holes and allowing the controller to be mounted directly on the
surface.
A mating interface to which the base shell connects establishes an electrical connection
between the base shell and the controller. The controller also contains the key components for
the control and connectivity of the arm.
Note: The controller mating interface needs to be kept free of dust and moisture to protect the
electrical contacts. Wipe down with a soft dry cloth to keep the interface clean.
The internal components of the controller include:
• CPU
• Wi-Fi / Bluetooth adapter (Only Wi-Fi is used at present)
• Ethernet switch
• USB hub
• temperature sensor
• accelerometer/gyroscope
A Linux web server runs on the controller and manages connectivity between the controller and
the arm devices, and between the controller and an external computer.
Controller quick connect system

This section describes the controller quick connect system.
The base of the robot is equipped with a quick connect system that allows for simple connect /
disconnect of the base shell and controller. This allows the arm to be quickly detached from the
mounting point of the arm without disconnecting any cables. This can be useful for transport,
for removal of the arm for servicing or for convenient re-siting of the arm between multiple
installation sites.
Note: Be careful to avoid damage to the electrical contacts on the mating interface of the
controller when the base shell is disconnected. Make sure to keep the surface dry and free from
dust.

Figure 12: Controller quick connect
The base shell slides over and onto the controller, establishing an electrical connection with the
arm. The base shell is secured in place on the controller by closing the front clamp.
Figure 13: Base shell installation
To remove the arm from the controller, flip open the clamp and slide off the base shell.

Figure 14: Base shell and arm removal
The controller features a locking screw within the mounting hole on the front bottom left (from
the perspective of an observer behind the connector panel). Turning the locking screw with a
3 mm hex key clockwise will cause the screw to go forward and protrude through a hole above
the top surface of the controller a few mm until it reaches the end of its travel. If the base shell
is already clamped onto the controller when this is done, the set screw will interface with a
mechanism on the clamp and prevent the clamp from opening until the set screw is withdrawn.
This serves as a safety mechanism. There is a hole on the clamp where the end of the lock screw
can be seen when it is fully engaged. Confirm visually that the lock screw is not engaged before
trying to open the clamp.

Figure 15: Lock screw mechanism
Controller connector panel

This section describes the controller connector panel of the robotic arm.
The controller connector panel is located at the rear of the controller. It features the following
elements:
• On / Off power switch
• blue power LED indicator
• red / amber / green status LED indicator
• HDMI Out (camera video*)
• Micro USB (for firmware updates)
• USB 2.0, type A - qty 2 - for wired controller. Top port 1 A for charging. Bottom port 500 mA
max, for peripherals.
• RJ-45 Gigabit Ethernet (LAN)
• Binder-USA 09 0463 90 19 (joystick, discrete I/O, E-Stop, expansion)
• Lumberg 0317 08 (power)
Note: Cables connected to the base controller must be less than 3 m in length. If not, you must
perform a risk analysis. Cables longer than 3 m can potentially have an effect on radio frequency
emissions and the immunity of the product.

Figure 16: Controller connector panel
* to be implemented in future software release
Actuators
This section provides an overview of the robot actuators.
The rotational motion at each of the joints of the robot is powered by rotary actuators. There
is one actuator for each joint. Each actuator allows for potentially unlimited rotation in either
direction (There are software limits however on some joints however to avoid collisions
between robot shell segments).
There are two sizes of actuator:
• small
• large
Each actuator has:
• torque sensing
• current and temperature sensing on each motor phase
Wrist joints use small actuators, while large actuators are used for other joints. All actuators are
equipped with a 100:1 strain wave gear for smooth motion.
The actuators are connected to each other and to the interconnect board using a series of 41-
pin flex cables. These cables convey:
• power
• 2 x full-duplex 100 Mbps Ethernet
º one for 1 kHz control
º one for vision / expansion data traffic
Actuator Specifications:
• actuator speed (maximum, unloaded):
º 25 RPM (small)
º 17 RPM (large)
• actuator torque (small):

º 13 N·m (nominal)
º 34 N·m (peak)
• actuator torque (large):
º 32 N·m (nominal)
º 74 N·m (peak)
Interface module
This section describes the interface module.
The interface module provides an interface for connecting a gripper or other tools at the end
of the arm. The interface module also provides a mounting point and connection for the Vision
module.
The interface module has a connection interface at the end of the arm, and is surrounded on the
sides by a bracelet shell. The Vision module is mounted on the top of the bracelet.
The bracelet includes two buttons used to activate admittance modes to interact with the
robot. By default the button on the right hand side (viewed from behind) puts the arm into
Cartesian admittance while the button on the left puts the arm into null space admittance. The
two buttons can be distinguished easily by touch without looking; the Cartesian admittance
mode button sticks out from the surface in the center, while the null admittance mode button is
slightly indented in in the center and ring-shaped.
Note: Only one of the buttons can be active at any given time. If you press the two buttons
together or in close succession, the button pressed later will take effect.
The bracelet also includes two amber LEDs.
The interface module takes a 41-pin input from the last actuator of the robot.
The interface exposes connectors that allow different end effectors to be integrated with the
robot. It features:
• Kinova internal end-effector interface
• 10-pin spring-loaded connector with RS-485 (compatible with Robotiq Adaptive Grippers)
• 20-pin user expansion interface

Figure 17: Interface module
The interface also includes four mounting holes for physical mounting of an end effector and a
position key hole used for alignment of the end effector in the right orientation.
Figure 18: Mounting holes and positioning key hole
The interface module includes a 6-axis accelerometer / gyroscope. The module also includes an
Ethernet switch to route connectivity and control data between the interface module and the
vision module and any connected tool (e.g. gripper).

Note: The printed circuit board (PCB) of the interface module is partially covered with a touch
shield with holes to expose only the output connectors - 10-pin spring loaded connector, 20-pin
user expansion connector, and Kinova internal end effector interface.
Note: When there is no end effector present, it is recommended to place an end cap over
the face of the interface module. Kinova provides an end cap with the robot. This end cap is
attached to the interface with screws using the mounting holes on the interface. The end cap
needs to be removed to attach an end effector to the robot.
Figure 19: End cap
Vision module
This section describes the Vision module.
The Vision module is a module provided by Kinova to enable robotic computer vision
applications.
The Vision module is mounted on the top side of the Interconnect module. A housing containing
sensors protrudes from the top of the Interconnect module. The sensors are contained on the
front face of the housing, facing out parallel to the axis of the last actuator.
The Vision module is used to capture and stream image data captured looking in the direction
the end of the arm / end effector is pointed. The Vision module includes both a 2D RGB camera
(Omnivision OV5640) and a 3D stereo depth sensor (Intel® RealSense™ Depth Module D410).
Together, the two cameras allow the capture of RGBD (color and depth) data. Both camera
sensors can be configured using the KINOVA® KORTEX™ VisionConfig interface.
Performance for the Vision module depth sensor may be degraded at temperatures below
0° C. For more details, please consult the depth sensor data sheet.
The color and depth sensors data streams are made accessible to developers through a
computer with a connection to the robot. For more information on accessing these data streams
programatically, see here.

Vision module specifications
Color sensor:
• resolution and framerates:
º 1920 x 1080 @ 30, 15 fps (16:9)
º 1280 x 720 @ 30, 15 fps (16:9)
º 640 x 480 @ 30, 15 fps (4:3)
º 320 x 240 @ 30, 15 fps (4:3)
• FOV - 77° (diagonal)

• focal length (range) - 30 cm to ∞
Depth sensor:
• resolution and framerates:
º 480 x 270 @ 30, 15, 6 fps (16:9)
º 424 x 240 @ 30, 15, 6 fps (16:9)
• FOV - 77° (diagonal)
• minimum depth distance (min-Z) - 18 cm

Dimensions, specifications, and capabilities

Schematic and dimensions - 7 DoF spherical wrist
This section provides a schematic diagram of the system and its physical dimensions.
Figure 20: 7 DoF spherical wrist frames definition and dimensions
The image above defines reference frames for the base, joints (when all joint angles = 0) and end
effector. Each frame is defined in terms of the previous frame via a transformation matrix. The
diagram also indicates the link lengths and lateral offset values (measurements in mm).
The maximum reach of the robot, as defined by the distance from the shoulder (Actuator 2
frame) to the end effector frame, is 90.2 cm.

Table 9: 7 DoF spherical wrist robot geometric parameters
Description Length (mm)

Base to actuator 1 156.4
Base to shoulder 284.8
First half upper arm length 210.4
Second half upper arm length 210.4
Forearm length (elbow to wrist) 208.4
First wrist length 105.9
Second wrist length 105.9
Last actuator to end efector 61.5
Joint 1-2 offset 5.4
Table 10: Joint limits - 7 DoF spherical wrist
Angular range
Actuator
Lower limit Upper limit
1 -∞ +∞
2 - 126° + 126°
3 -∞ +∞
4 - 147° + 147°
5 -∞ +∞
6 - 117° + 117°
7 -∞ +∞
Technical Specifications
®
This section provides the technical specifications for the KINOVA Gen3 Ultra lightweight
robot, categorized for ease of reference. Some of these also appear within the main body
of the text.
Table 11: Safety / Security
Feature Detail
Safety alarm (power monitor) ≥ 10A (maximum current)
Position monitoring default and user-defined protection zones.
warning / shutdown above
Thermal monitor
maximum operating temperature

Table 12: Environmental
Parameter Value(s)
-30 °C to 35°C (operating)
Temperature
-30 °C to 50 °C (storage)
IPX3 (liquid)**
Robot ingress protection
IP3X (solid)
Relative humidity (non-condensing) 15% to 90% (operating)
Pressure 70 kPa to 106 kPa **
Sound pressure level < 55.5 dBA
Universal Power Supply (external) 300 W
Input Voltage 100- 240 VAC
Input Frequency 50 - 60 Hz
Power supply ingress protection IP42
Table 13: Controller (base)
Feature Detail
power indicator blue LED
status indicator red/amber/green LED
USB 2.0 (two ports) Xbox gamepad connect; 1 A charging (top),
500 mA USB peripherals (lower)
Gigabit Ethernet (RJ-45) for development PC connection

Wi-Fi (IEEE 802.11a/b/g/n) ®
KINOVA KORTEX™ Web App and API
HDMI 1.4a (for future use)
circular connector [Binder-USA 09 0463 90 19] joystick, discrete I/O, emergency line assert,
expansion
circular connector [Lumberg 0317 08] power
sensors voltage, current, temperature, accelerometer
and gyroscope

Table 14: Robot

Parameter Value(s)
Weight 8.3 kg (with vision module, no gripper)
Payload 4 kg (mid-range continuous; no gripper)
4.5 kg (full-reach peak / temporary; no
gripper)
1.1 kg (full-reach continuous; no gripper)
Maximum reach (fully extended) 902 mm (7 DoF)
Degrees of freedom 7 DoF
qty 3 (small)
Actuators
qty 4 (large)
Wrist interaction buttons qty 2 (user-configurable*; default for null
space and Cartesian admittance control)
Power supply voltage 24 VDC (nominal, 18 to 30 V)
Carbon fiber shell
Materials
Aluminum
100 Mbps Ethernet for real-time 1 kHz control
Communciations and control
100 Mbps Ethernet for Vision module / expansion
Average power 45 W
Table 15: Actuators
Feature Value(s)
Sensors current sensors (motor), temperatures (motor),
voltage, torque, position
Table 16: Interface module
Feature Function
Vision module color and depth sensing
Wrist status LEDs admittance mode indication
Wrist pushbuttons null-space / Cartesian admittance
mode; programmable*
Kinova internal end-effector interface connector Kinova internal use*
10-pin spring-loaded connector RS-485 (compatible with
Robotiq Adaptive Grippers)
100 Mbps Ethernet
UART (3.3V)*
20-pin user expansion connector 2
I C (3.3V)*
[AVX/Kyocera 046288020000846+] GPIO (3.3V, qty 4)*
24V @ 0.5A
3.3V @ 0.1A for signaling
Sensors accelerometer and gyroscope,
voltage, temperature

Table 17: Vision
Feature Detail
480 x 270 @ 30, 15, 6 fps (16:9)

424 x 240 @ 30, 15, 6 fps (16:9)
Depth sensor
FOV: 77° (diagonal)
focal length (range) - 18 cm to ∞
1920 x 1080 @ 30, 15 fps (16:9)

1280 x 720 @ 30, 15 fps (16:9)
640 x 480 @ 30, 15 fps (4:3)
Color sensor 320 x 240 @ 30, 15 fps (4:3)
FOV: 77° (diagonal)
focal length (range) - 30 cm to ∞
Table 18: Software / control
Feature Detail
Low-level control torque*, position, velocity, current
High-level control Cartesian position/velocity, joint position/velocity
protection zones - rectangular, spheric, cylindrical
High-level control features (mode dependent)
singularity handling
Servoing modes high-level, low-level
logging of position, speed, temperature,
Data recorder*
torque, battery, etc. (user-configurable)
Maximum velocity
Angular position of individual joints user-configurable
Angular speed of individual joints
Supported ROS distribution Kinetic Kame
Boot time 45 s
Internal communication frequency 1 kHz

** subject to future change
Sensors
This section describes the robot sensors.
The robot contains a number of sensors to provide feedback on the status of the robot. This
data is used by the robot for internal monitoring and control.
The robot components contain the following sensors:
Base sensors
• voltage
• current
• temperature

• arm present detection

• 6-axis accelerometer / gyroscope
Actuator sensors
• motor phases current sensors (one per phase)
• motor phases temperature sensors (one per phase)
• CPU temperature sensor
• input voltage sensor
• Hall effect sensors for BLDC motor drive
• absolute rotary position encoder
• incremental rotary position encoder
• torque sensors
Interface module sensors
• voltage monitoring (future enhancement)
• temperature sensor (CPU, accelerometer and dedicated)
• 6-axis accelerometer / gyroscope
Access to sensors data
Data from some sensors can be read by users using the APIs or through the Monitoring page of
the Web Application.
The API method RefreshFeedback() in the BaseCyclic API service returns a data structure
with readings from sensors in the base, actuators, and interface. For detailed information on how
to unpack this data in an application, see the BaseCyclic API documentation.
The following tables give more information about the sensor data.
Base readings available
Table 19: Base readings available through API
Field name Description

arm_voltage arm voltage in V
arm_current arm current in A
temperature_cpu CPU temperature in °C
temperature_ambient ambient temperature in °C
imu_acceleration_x IMU measured acceleration (X-Axis)
2
of base in m / s
imu_acceleration_y IMU measured acceleration (Y-Axis)
2
of base in m / s
imu_acceleration_z IMU measured acceleration (Z-Axis)
2
of base in m / s
imu_angular_velocity_x IMU measured angular velocity (X-
Axis) ωxof base in ° / s
imu_angular_velocity_y IMU measured angular velocity (Y-

Axis) ωy of base in ° / s
imu_angular_velocity_z IMU measured angular velocity (Z-

Axis) ωz of base in ° / s

Actuators readings available
Table 20: Actuators readings available via API

position angular position of the actuator in °
velocity angular velocity of the actuator in ° / sec
torque torque in N·m
current_motor motor current in A
voltage main board voltage in V
temperature_motor actuator motor temperature in °C (highest of three 3
phases)
temperature_core microcontroller temperature in °C
Interface readings available
Table 21: Interface readings available via API

imu_acceleration_X IMU measured acceleration (X-Axis) of
2
interconnect in m / s
imu_acceleration_Y IMU measured acceleration (Y-Axis) of
2
imu_acceleration_Z IMU measured acceleration (Z-Axis) of
2
imu_angular_velocity_X IMU measured angular velocity (X-Axis) ωx of
interconnect in ° / s
imu_angular_velocity_Y IMU measured angular velocity (Y-Axis) ωy of
imu_angular_velocity_Z IMU measured angular velocity (Z-Axis) ωz of
voltage main board voltage in V
temperature_core microcontroller temperature in °C
End effector readings available
Table 22: End effector readings available via API

tool_pose_x Measured Cartesian position (X-
axis) of the end effector in m
tool_pose_y Measured Cartesian position (Y-
tool_pose_z Measured Cartesian position (Z-


tool_pose_theta_x Measured Cartesian orientation
(X-axis) of the end effector in °
tool_pose_theta_y Measured Cartesian orientation
(Y-axis) of the end effector in °
tool_pose_theta_z Measured Cartesian orientation
(Z-axis) of the end effector in °
tool_twist_linear_x Measured cartesian linear velocity
(X-Axis) of the end effector in m / s
tool_twist_linear_y Measured cartesian linear velocity
(Y-Axis) of the end effector in m / s
tool_twist_linear_z Measured cartesian linear velocity
(Z-Axis) of the end effector in m / s
tool_twist_angular_x Measured cartesian angular velocity
(X-Axis) of the end effector in ° / s
tool_twist_angular_y Measured cartesian angular velocity
(Y-Axis) of the end effector in ° / s
tool_twist_angular_z Measured cartesian angular velocity
(Z-Axis) of the end effector in ° / s
Effective workspace
This section provides information on the effective workspace of the robot.
Effective workspace overview
The effective workspace refers to the region in three-dimensional space which is reachable by
the robot end effector. This is impacted by several factors, including the number and length of
the links, the joint ranges, and the shape of the links
There are two definitions of effective workspace, the first being larger than the second.
1. Nominal (or reachable) workspace - the set of all locations in the three-dimensional space
reachable by the end effector through at least one combination of end effector position and
orientation
2. Dextrous workspace - the subset of the nominal workspace in which the end effector still
has the full freedom to move, both in translation (three degrees of freedom) and in rotation
(three degrees of freedom)
Detailed information
The following graphic illustrates a two-dimensional cross-section of the nominal workspace for
the robot.

Figure 21: 7 DoF robot nominal workspace (measurements in mm)
Payload vs. workspace

This section describes the variation of payload over the workspace and depending on the
type of use.
Overview
The payload of the robot is the maximum mass that the robot can hold up at the end effector.
This is generally not one constant figure, but will depend on a few factors.
• radial distance from the base - the payload will be highest closest to the base, and will go
down as the end effector gets farther out from the base axis.
• temporary vs. continuous - the robot will have a maximum payload that can be handled
temporarily for a short period of time. However, continued use of the arm with that payload
for an indefinite period will cause the arm to heat up, as the heat generated by the strain on
the actuator exceeds the rate at which heat can be dissipated. However, a smaller mass can
be handled for an indefninite period. This is referred to as the continuous payload limit.
The payload will also depend on whether a gripper is attached or not, with some of the payload
capability reduced to lift the weight of the gripper.

Interface module expansion - tips for installing tools

This section describes what is needed to install a new tool onto the interface module.
At some point, you may want to install a new tool such as a gripper or sensor onto the robot.
Generally, this involves two steps.
1. Physically mounting the tool using the screw holes available on the Interface module face.
Note: The holes on the Interface module face are laid out to allow easy installation of
Robotiq Adaptive Grippers using the four supplied M5 X 40 mm Socket Head Cap Screws
(SHCS include O-rings for compliance with the IP rating for sealing). For other third-party
tools, it may be necessary to create a mounting structure matching the provided interface
module bolting pattern, as discussed in the End effector reference design section.

2. Integration of Robotiq Adaptive Grippers to the robot power and control signals uses the 10-
pin spring-loaded connector. Other third-party tools can use the signals on this and / or the
20-pin user expansion connector. Currently power and Ethernet expansion are available via
the user expansion connector. The pinout details are described in later sections.
Note: If designing or installing your own tool or end effector, remember to take into
consideration the field of view of the depth sensor when designing the length of the tool to
avoid hindering the effectiveness of the vision module depth sensor.
End effector reference design

This section provides guidance to developers on developing and integrating a new end
effector with the robot.
Introduction
®
The KINOVA Gen3 Ultra lightweight robot is designed for maximum flexibility. As such,
the robot has a user expansion interface designed to simplify the development required
to incorporate different sensors, end effectors or other tools/boards. The supported user
interfaces are listed in the section Interface module user expansion connector pinout.
Kinova provides a reference design package which includes mechanical and electrical modular
interfaces.
Mechanical interface
The mechanical interface is a flanged circular structure which converts the interface module
bolting pattern to the ISO 9409-1-A50 mounting plate pattern common to many industrial
robots.
Kinova recommends that the mechanical interface part of your end effector be machined from
solid aluminium, though for applications where no payload will be attached (only sensors or
PCBs), a 3D-printed interface part may suffice.
Note: If a 3D printed interface is used, perform an evaluation of the forces involved to ensure
that adequate safety factors are observed.
Note: The structure includes openings at the top and bottom of the structure for the passage
of cabling for the electrical interface. As a result, the interface does not provide ingress or EMI
protection.

Figure 22: Reference design mechanical interface (details in reference design package)
Electrical interface
The electrical reference design acts as a breakout, giving access to:
• 24 V / 0.5 A
• 5 V / 2.5 A (through a DC-DC buck converter)
• Expansion Ethernet (100 Mbit, through a RJ-45 port)
• 2
GPIO, I C and UART*
Figure 23: Reference design electrical interface (details in reference design package)

Reference design package

A reference design package is available on the Kinova website. www.kinovarobotics.com/
knowledge-hub/technical-resources
The package includes several useful files to help you with building an end effector. You may use
these files as is or as a starting point to design your own end effector. The package contents
include:
• STL file of the mechanical interface, for 3D-printing
• STEP file and PDF drawing of the mechanical interface, for machining
• STEP file of the Kinova breakout PCB for integration into CAD programs
• KR13933.ASY file which directs the assembly of the PCB (including the BOM)
• KR13933.PCB which directs the PCB fabrication (including Gerber files)
• KR13933.SCH which includes the circuit board schematic diagrams
Remove end cap from Interface module

This section describes how to remove the end cap from the Interface module.
Before you begin
You will need a 3 mm hex key.
About this task
The robot ships originally with an end cap over the interface. Attaching an end effector to
the robot requires removing the end cap first. Removing the end cap exposes expansion
and end-effector connection points.
When removing the end cap, there is an O-ring exposed which must be conserved. The O-ring
is used to provide protection against water ingress and EMI at the junction between the robot
interface and the end effector.
Procedure
1. The end cap is held onto the robot interface using four M5 button head cap screws. Using a 3
mm hex key, remove the screws and preserve the screws.
2. Remove the end cap, and set aside with the screws.
3. You will see an O-ring on removing the end cap. The O-ring will be needed when attaching an
end effector.

Note: Set aside the O-ring with the screws and end cap for safe keeping.
Robotiq Adaptive Grippers installation (optional)

This section describes the procedure for installing a Robotiq Adaptive Grippers on the
robot.
Before you begin
You will need four M5 X 40 mm Socket Head Cap Screws and 4 mm hex key (supplied).
You will also need to have removed the interface end cap (robot comes with end cap connected).
You will need the O-ring that was exposed when the end cap was removed.
About this task
This procedure describes the installation for Robotiq Adaptive Grippers (Robotiq 2F-85,
2F-140, or Hand-E Gripper) on the interface module of the robot. The interface module
allows easy mounting of Robotiq Adaptive Grippers. This procedure mechanically mounts
the gripper on the robot and integrates the gripper with the robot in terms of electrical
power and control. The interface module has four mounting holes corresponding to the
bolt pattern on the gripper. The 10 spring-loaded pins on the interface mate with a contact
plate on the inside of the Robotiq Gripper to establish electrical supply and controls.
Figure 24: Robotiq Adaptive Gripper (Robotiq 2F-85 Gripper shown)
Procedure
1. Prepare the four supplied M5 X 40mm Socket Head Cap Screws and a 4 mm hex key.

2. Place the O-ring around the diameter of the gripper. The O-ring protects the junction
between the interface module and gripper from water ingress and EMI.
3. Locate the positioning key on the Robotiq Gripper and the corresponding hole on the
interface module face.
4. Position the gripper interface against the Interface module interface so that the positioning
key of the gripper is in the positioning key hole of the interface module and the 10-pin
spring-loaded connector of the interface module is aligned with the corresponding mating
interface on the gripper.
5. Insert the four screws through the front face of the gripper. Tighten each screw in sequence
until they are all snug (do not overtighten).
Results
The Robotic Gripper will now be mechanically installed on the robot. The gripper is also
fully integrated with the robot for power and controls. The robot provides power to the
gripper, and the gripper can be controlled using either the provided gamepad or the
®
KINOVA KORTEX™ Web App virtual joysticks.

What to do next
For your personal safety, it is strongly recommended that you read the user
documentation for the Robotiq Gripper before use.
Interface module bolting pattern

This section describes the bolting pattern for a tool interfacing with the Interface module.
Drill pattern for mounting screws and position key
The drill pattern below is for the four mounting screws. Openings to accommodate the required
cables connections with the connectors also need to be added. The use of a 4 mm dowel pin to
accurately localize the positioning key hole is optional but strongly recommended.
Figure 25: Mounting holes for gripper/tool (all dimensions in mm)
Interface module user expansion connector pinout

This section describes the functionality available at the interface module user expansion
connector.
The interface module user expansion connector pin assignment is described in the table below.
Figure 26: Interface module user expansion connector

Table 23: Interface module user expansion pinout
Pin Name Comment

1 +24V USER 24V / 0.5A power; a protection device limits current shared between gripper and
2 +24V USER user expansion port to 1A total.
3 GND
power return path
4 GND
5 ETH_RX_P
Ethernet Rx 100Mbps (connected with EXP bus)
6 ETH_RX_N
7 GND signal return path
8 ETH_TX_P
Ethernet Tx 100Mbps (connected with EXP bus)
9 ETH_TX_N
11 +3V3 3.3V / 100 mA; can be used for small IC or sensor*
12 UART_TXD signal 3.3V*
13 UART_RXD signal 3.3V*
14 GND signal return path*
15 I2C_SCL 2
I C clock - 3.3V*
16 I2C_SDA 2
I C data - 3.3V*
17 GPIO1
18 GPIO2
General Purpose Input / Output 3.3V*
19 GPIO3
20 GPIO4
Spring-loaded connector pinout

This section describes the pinout of the spring-loaded connector.
The spring-loaded connector pin assignment is described in the table below.

Figure 27: Spring-loaded connector
Table 24: Spring-loaded connector pinout
Pin Name Comment

1 GND
power return path
2 GND
3 +24V 24V / 1A power for end device (current limit shared with interface module user
4 +24V expansion port)
5 PRESENT end device presence detection (connect to GND on end device)

6 N/C no connection
7 RS485_N
RS-485 signal pair (bidirectional)
8 RS485_P
10 N/C no connection

Robot communications and network interfaces

This section describes communications and network interfaces within the robot.
The devices in the robot, from the base of the arm through the chain of actuators, to the
interface module at the end of the arm, are daisy chained together using 41-pin flex cables
which carry power and communications.
The base, actuators, and interface module each contain an Ethernet switch. The Ethernet port
on the connector panel of the base controller allows an external computer to connect to the
Ethernet switch of the base.
The Kinova vision module and any 3rd party tool that makes use of Ethernet communications
user expansion pins in the interface connect directly to the interface module Ethernet switch.
Other tools (for example any gripper interfacing using the 10-pin spring loaded connector on
the interface) will interface instead with the interface module CPU (which is connected to the
Ethernet switch).
Together, this enables dual Ethernet networks between all the devices (base, actuators,
interface, Vision module, and end effector tools) with data carried between the base and
interface over the 41-pin flex cables. This is accessible from a client computer via the 1 Gbps
Ethernet port on the base controller connector panel.
The flex cables carry two distinct 100 Mbps Ethernet communications channels.
• one is for control and monitoring of actuators, interface module, and gripper (if present)
• the other is for data transmission for the vision module and expansion.
Each device connected to one of the Ethernet switches has an IP address to allow routing of
communications, transmitted using UDP.
The actuators and interface module have the following default IP addresses:
Table 25: Actuator and gripper IP addresses
Device IP address
Actuator 1 10.10.0.10
Actuator 2 10.10.0.11
Actuator 3 10.10.0.12
Actuator 4 10.10.0.13
Actuator 5 10.10.0.14
Actuator 6 10.10.0.15
Actuator 7 10.10.0.16
Interface module 10.10.0.17
The expansion devices (Vision module and expansion tool peripherals) have the following IP
addresses:
Table 26: Expansion IP addresses
Expansion Devices IP address

Vision module 10.20.0.100
Expansion device 10.20.0.200/24*

The robot Ethernet network features three VLANs:

• VLAN 10 : control
• VLAN 20 : expansion
• VLAN 30 : external
The base has network interfaces to all three of these VLANs:
Table 27: Base network interface IP addresses
VLAN IP address
CTRL interface IP address 10.10.0.1/24*
EXP interface IP address 10.20.0.1/24*
EXT interface IP address 192.168.1.10/24*
The graphic below illustrates the topology of the networks.
* CIDR notation

Accessing Vision module color and depth streams

This section describes access to the video module color and depth streams.
The video module sensors capture two video streams:
• color
• depth
The data from these streams is sent from the vision module back to the base controller via the
vision / expansion channel carried over the internal flex cable links.
These two streams are accessible via the Real Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP) on a computer
connected to the robot (with transport over real-time transport protocol (RTP)).
Using the default IP address settings for the base controller, the two streams are accessible via:
• color sensor stream: rtsp://<base IPv4 address>/color
• depth sensor stream: rtsp://<base IPv4 address>/depth
For the default configuration of the base controller network interface, this would give:
• rtsp://192.168.1.10/color
• rtsp://192.168.1.10/depth
Note: Examples in the documentation will use the default base controller IP setting for
simplicity.
Streams specifications
• pixel format: Z16 pixel format - 16 bits LSB transferred as grayscale
• H.264 baseline profile (constant bitrate)
• RTSP server listening on port 554 (default)
• maximum of two simultaneous connections per stream
• inactivity timeout of 30 seconds
®
The KINOVA KORTEX™ Developer Guide section of the user guide describes in more detail
how to work with the vision module camera streams.

Concepts and terminology

Robot key concepts
This section describes some important concepts related to the robot.
Actions
An action is something that the user wants the robot to do. This can include (but is not limited
to):
• a command to control the robot
• toggling a mode
• replaying a predefined movement
• changing a position or motion parameter
• setting a limitation
• adding a delay
The full set of action types is defined in the Base API.
Control modes
A control mode is one of several modalities of controlling the motion of the robot while it is in
run mode. Different modes provide different means to describe or guide the desired motion.
The control modes for the arm are:
• angular joystick
• angular trajectory
• vision joystick
• Cartesian joystick
• Cartesian trajectory
• Cartesian admittance
• joint admittance
• null space admittance
Controller
A controller is a device or interface through which a user can produce actions on the robot.
Factory settings
Factory settings are the configuration settings of the robot as they were when the robot arrived
from the manufacturer. A robot can be returned to factory settings, which includes the base
configuration and the network settings.
Mappings
A mapping is a one-to-one correspondance between an input on a controller and a resulting
action on the robot.
Notifications
A notification is a log of an event that happens related to the robot while a user is using the
robot. Events are of different types, including (but not limited to):
• user login
• controller input
• safety
• action or sequence
• connection / disconnection of arm, controller, or end effector
• configuration change or backup

• factory restore
• protection zone reached / entered / exited
• change in control, operation, or servoing mode
A notification will include the user profile, type of event, details of the event (if applicable), and a
timestamp.
Operating mode
Operating modes are the different operational states of the robot. The operating modes for the
arm are:
• update - in process of update
• update completed - update is completed successfully
• update failed - update process started but failed to complete successfully
• shutting down - arm is in process of shutting down
• run - normal operating mode. Arm is ready to accept control inputs.
• fault - robot is in an error state
Protection zone
A protection zone defines a three-dimensional region with respect to the robot base where the
end effector or arm is either prevented from entering or where its speed is limited. Protection
zones are used for enabling obstacle avoidance. For the robot, protection zones can be one of
three shapes (or combination thereof):
• cylinder
• rectangular prism
• sphere
Sequence
A sequence is an ordered list of actions.
Servoing mode
A servoing mode is a modality through which commands are transmitted to robot devices during
operation. The servoing modes are as follows:
• high-level servoing - user(s) send commands to the base, which routes the commands to the
desired device. The base also manages a 1 kHz control loop.
º single-level - a single user sends commands to a base
• low-level servoing - the user sends commands to the base for routing to the desired device.
There are no high-level kinematics or control features available.
Upgrade package
An upgrade package contains firmware images for all devices on the robot, not just the ones
which are being ugraded.
User profiles
A user profile is a collection of basic information about the person using the robot, along with
credentials (username and password) for access. A user profile allows access to the robot to be
controlled based on login credentials, and allows permissions for reading, updating, and deleting
different configuration items to be controlled. The user profile also allows notifications for
events happening during a user's session to be associated with the user. Notifications that were
sent by the robot can be viewed in the Web App > Notifications page if the Web App is
open and connected to the robot before the notifications were sent.

Terminology reference
The following sections give an overview of the terminology of the robotic arm.
For ease of reference, the terminology reference section has been divided into the following
categories:
• Acronyms
• General mathematics and robotics
• Features, components and functionalities
• Control and Operation Modes
General mathematics and robotics
Axis
A fixed line for the measurement of coordinates or angles, in relation to which is specified
the robot motion (in linear or rotational fashion).
Base Frame
The reference frame located at the center of the bottom surface of the arm's base. This
serves as the origin frame in Cartesian space.
Cartesian Space
The Euclidean space described by x, y and z of the Cartesian coordinate system.
Center of Mass
The center of mass is a useful reference point for calculations in mechanics that involve
masses distributed in space.
Closed Loop control system

Control system of a robot manipulator by means of sensor feedback. As a manipulator
is in action, its sensors continually feed information back to the robot's controller which
is used to further guide the manipulator within the given task. Many sensors are used to
provide information about manipulator placement, speed, torque and applied forces, as
well as the location of a targeted moving object, etc.
Coordinate System
A system used to represent a position in three-dimensional space, consisting of three
coordinate axes and an origin.
Degrees of Freedom (DoF)

The number of independent directions or joints of the robot, which would allow the
robot to move its end effector through the required sequence of motions. For arbitrary
positioning, six degrees of freedom are needed: three for position (x, y, z) and three for
orientation (yaw, pitch and roll).
Endpoint
The nominal commanded position that a manipulator will seek at the end of a motion
path.
Euler Angle
• Describes the orientation of a rigid body with respect to a fixed coordinate system.
• Another less complicated way to express vector orientation.

Gravity Compensation
The gravity model computes the forces and torques due to gravity at each joint. The
gravity torques are then subtracted from the measured torques, resulting in a gravity-
free torque vector.
Joint Angle
Describes the position of every joint of a robot as as series of angles.
Joint Space
The set of all possible joint positions.
Null Space
The mathematical space of joint speeds where the robot can change its configuration
(generate joint speed and motion) without changing the end-effector pose (Null Twist at
the end effector).
Orientation
• The angle formed by the major axis of an object relative to a reference axis. It must be
defined relative to a three-dimensional coordinate system, i.e. the angular position of an
object with respect to the robot's reference system.
• The end effector's position consists of two things, a translation (x, y and z) and an the
orientation that can be expressed in several ways. Think of it as a vector. This would be the
orientation of this vector.
Path
The continuous locus of points (or positions in three dimensional space) traversed by the
tool center point and described in a specified coordinate system.
Path (Angular)
The set of at least two angular poses, through which the actuator values angles should
pass during motion.
Path (Cartesian)
The set of at least two Cartesian poses, through which the tool of the robot should pass
during motion.
Pose
Describes the position and orientation of a rigid body in Cartesian space.
Position
The definition of an object's location in 3D space, usually defined by a 3D coordinate
system using X, Y, and Z coordinates.
Quaternion
A quaternion is a group of four numbers used to express a vector's orientation.
Reference Frame
A system of geometric (coordinate) axes in relation to which measurements of size,
position, or motion can be made. Robotic manipulators normally include several
strategically placed reference frames, located at the base, joints and end effector.
Tool Frame
A coordinate system attached to the end effector of a robot (relative to the base frame).

Trajectory
A specific path in the Cartesian robot workspace (e.g. a straight line trajectory for the end
effector) can be defined by the user.
Twist
Generalized velocity vector, which is a combination of translationnal velocity and
rotational velocity.
Wrench
Generalized force (vector which is a combination of linear force and torques).
Vector
Mathematical representation of physical quantities that have both magnitude and
direction, expressed in terms of a Reference Frame.
X DoF
Undefined number of degrees of freedom.
Features, components and functionalities
Actual Position
The position (or location) of the tool frame point. Note that this will not be exactly the
same as the requested position due to a multitude of un-sensed errors (such as link
deflection, transmission irregularity, tolerances in link lengths, etc.).
Admittance
Used in several control modes wherein the arm is moved directly by the user touching
the arm and applying force and torque to the end effector, the wrist, or to individual
joints.
Base
Refers to the stationary base structure of a robot arm that supports the first arm joint.
Base support
The stable platform to which the base is attached
Continuous Path
Describes the process whereby a robot is controlled over the entire path traversed, as
opposed to a point-to-point method of traversal. Used when the end-effector smooth
trajectory is of vital importance to provide the constant motion required by applications
such as spray painting.
End Effector
The device at the end of a robotic arm, designed to directly interact with the environment,
is known as the end effector (EE).
In-motion
Describes the operations/computations done while the robot is moving (i.e. inverse
kinematics and trajectory generation).
Joint
Section of the manipulator system which allows one rotational degree of freedom.

Off-motion
An instruction fed to the robot by means of the human-to-machine input device. This
command is interpreted by the robot's controller system. The proper instruction is then
fed to the robot's actuators, which enable it to comply with the initial command.
Path Planning
Off-motion computation of an optimal path to reach a goal pose (i.e. while avoiding
singularities and collisions).
Payload - Maximum
The maximum mass that the robot can manipulate at a specified speed, acceleration/
deceleration, center of gravity location (offset), and repeatability in continuous operation
over a specified working space, specified in kilograms.
Pinch Point
Any location on the robot arm (or its accessories) which poses a risk of injury to fingers or
other appendages close by.
Point-to-Point
Manipulator motion in which a limited number of points along a projected path of motion
is specified. The manipulator moves from point to point rather than along a smooth
continuous path
Protection Zone
A volume in space where the robot can be limited in speed, acceleration and force.
Protection Zone Management

For assistive cases, removal of the part of the translation command directed towards the
inside of the protection zone. Use of the fitness function to avoid the elbow getting inside
the protection zone.
Redundancy
Occurs when the manipulator (robot) has more degrees of freedom than it needs to
execute a given task.
Redundancy Optimization
One of the effective methods to avoid a singularity is to use the redundant degrees-of-
freedom motion.
Safeties
Hardware current limits and torque mismatches which are checked to increase robot
safety.
Singularity Avoidance
Strategy to avoid configurations where the robot loses its ability to move the end effector
in a given direction no matter how it moves its joints.
Tool
A working apparatus mounted to the end of the robot, such as a hand, gripper, welding
torch, screw driver, etc.
Control and Operation Modes
Angular Mode
Independent joint control, whereby each axis of the manipulator is controlled separately.

Cartesian Mode
Translation and orientation of the end effector (EE) are defined in the task space. Then, a
generalized Inverse Kinematics (IK) solver determines the robot joint movements needed
to reach the target motion.
Cartesian Admittance Mode

Allows the application of external force to the EE, so as to guide the arm to a new
position.
Joint Admittance Mode

Allows the application of external force at the links, without affecting the EE pose.
Null Space Admittance Mode

Robot configuration can be changed by applying external forces at the links without
affecting the EE pose.
Trajectory Mode
A specific trajectory in the robot Cartesian workspace (e.g., a straight line trajectory for
the end effector) can be defined bu the user.

Control features
This section gives an overview of control features of the robot.
The robot has the following control features that improve the safety and usability of the robot,
and protect it from damage:
• singularity avoidance
• protection zones
Singularity avoidance
This section describes the Singularity avoidance feature of the robotic arm.
A singularity refers to any robot configuration (set of joint angles/orientations) which causes the
Jacobian transformation matrix relating actuator rotations to end effector linear motion to be
ill-conditioned, thus rendering the solution mathematically unstable (determinant of the joint
space to Cartesian space Jacobian matrix becomes 0).
At a singularity, the mobility of the robot is reduced, meaning the arbitrary motion of the
manipulator in a Cartesian direction is lost (losing a degree of freedom). This occurs when two
or more robot axes are aligned, leading to unpredictable / extreme velocities when trying to
attain a certain Cartesian pose. For example, when two axes become aligned in space, rotation
of one can be canceled by counter-rotation of the other, leaving the actual joint location
indeterminate. Near a singularity a small linear end effector motion requires disproportionately
large angular velocities of the actuators.
The robot controller firmware features capabilities to handle / avoid singularities in any
'Cartesian' mode. As a singularity cannot occur unless inverse kinematics are calculated,
singularities do not occur in any of the 'joint' modes.
Note: The robot behavior may change somewhat at or near a singularity. For example, the tool
speed may be reduced or the motion may deviate from the commanded motion.
Protection zones
This section describes the protection zones feature of the robot.
With this feature, the user defines protection zones programmatically or by using the Web App,
based on a few basic geometric shapes. Moreover, the user can specify a threshold, or slow-
zone, in the area surrounding each protection zone.
The end effector of the robot will never enter protection zones. If the robot is commanded to
enter or pass through a protection zone, the arm movement will stop any motion toward the
protection zone at the outer boundary of the protection zone. Protected parts of the robot will
be able to "slide" on the outer surface of the zone but not enter inwards.
The robot can travel however within adjacent slow-zones, but at a reduced speed.
One or more protection zones can be configured to define geometric volumes about the robot
base, where the motion of the robot end effector is either limited or precluded.
By defining suitable protection zones, the robot can be set to avoid collisions with known fixed
obstacles in the immediate environment of the robot while in operation.
Protection zones can be defined using one of three basic shape types:
• rectangular prism - position of center, length, width, and height dimensions, and angular
orientation of the rectangular prism are configurable
• cylindrical - position of center, radius, height, and angular orientation of the cylinder are
configurable.
• spherical - position of center and radius of sphere are configurable

A planar or disc-shaped protection zone can be defined by setting the thickness of the zone to
zero in either a rectangular prism or cylindrical protection zone.
Protection zones can be defined, edited, and deleted using either the Web App or the developer
APIs.

Control modes overview

This section gives an overview of the control modes of the robot.
The robot is controllable in a number of control modes:
• trajectory modes
º angular trajectory
º Cartesian trajectory
• joystick control modes
º Cartesian joystick
º angular joystick
• admittance modes
º Cartesian admittance
º joint admittance
º null space admittance
The control mode can be set using API commands or the KINOVA® KORTEX™ Web App.
Depending on the API command used, the robot control mode will change.The control mode
will also change depending on the Virtual Joystick interface being used.
Trajectory control modes

This section describes the Trajectory Control modes of the robot.
Using Trajectory Control modes, the user can send a desired endpoint pose or set of desired
joint angles to the robot. The robot controller computes an interpolated trajectory (between
current pose and target pose) to reach the final position, and commands the robot to follow this
trajectory.
In Cartesian Trajectory mode the endpoint pose is defined in terms of the desired Cartesian
space position of the end of the robot. This mode enables singularity avoidance.
In Angular Trajectory mode the endpoint pose is defined in terms of the desired joint angles for
the actuators.
To set the Trajectory control mode and execute trajectories, use the appropriate API methods,
or the Web App Actions page.
Joystick control modes

This section describes the Joystick Control modes of the robot.
Joystick Control modes provide the user the ability to move the robot by sending speed
commands or twist (velocity and angular velocity) to the robot using joystick commands or
directly using cyclic commands.
In Cartesian Joystick mode the end effector of the robot is moved using twist (linear and
angular velocity) or joystick commands. Linear speed is defined in the base frame, while angular
speed is defined in the tool frame. This mode provides for singularity avoidance and obstacle
avoidance (protection zones).
In Angular Joystick mode the joints of the robot are moved in angular space using angular
velocity or joystick commands provided to the actuators. The joints can be moved individually or
together.
In Vision Joystick mode, the end effector is made to move, both in translation and rotation, in
relation to the Tool frame.

Joystick control modes are used by any connected gamepad and by the Web App virtual
joysticks.
To enable Joystick Control Mode, use API methods or take control of the robot using either a
connected gamepad or the Web App control panel virtual joystick controls.
Admittance modes
This section describes the Admittance modes of the arm.
By setting the control mode of the arm to admittance mode, the user can manually apply an
external torque and/or force (wrench) to the arm and it will move accordingly.
In Cartesian Admittance mode, the end effector moves according to the wrench (Force
+ Torque) applied. This mode provides for singularity avoidance and obstacle avoidance
(protection zones).
In Joint Admittance mode the joints of the arm move according to the torques applied.
In Null Space Admittance mode, the end effector stays in the same pose while the user
manipulates the joints of the arm (within the null space). The arm moves within the null space
according to the torques applied. This mode provides for singularity avoidance.
There are three ways to put the robot into admittance:
• use the method SetAdmittance in the API.
• Web App control panel admittance controls
• admittance mode physical buttons on the interface module.
Note: Motion in admittance modes is constrained by internal safety limits for the robot
on velocity and torques. This includes Cartesian linear velocity limits and joint limits for
angular velocity and torque. Admittance mode performance is also tuned using
configurable parameters (damping, inertia, etc). The values for these parameters are not
currently user-configurable, but will be available for configuration in a future software
release.

Configurations and safeties

Configurable parameters
This section lists the configurable parameters of the robotand gives guidance on how to
configure them.
The robotic arm includes a number of parameters that can be configured to customize the
operation of the robot.
These parameters can be configured using the appropriate APIs. For more details on how to
perform configuration using the APIs, see the API documentation..
Some of these parameters can also be configured using the Web App GUI, which can be accessed
as follows:
1. Open the Web App
2. Navigate to the Robot Configurations page
3. Open the Configurations tab
The following tables give a summary of the configurable parameters.
Base configuration
Table 28: Base configuration (Kinova.Api.Base)
Configurable item Description

User Profiles Create, read, update and delete user profiles
Create, read, update and delete protection zones (for obstacle avoidance).
Configurable parameters are:
• enabled / disabled
• zone shape type (rectangular prism, cylinder, sphere)
Protection Zone • zone dimensions
• envelope thickness
• zone limitation types (force, acceleration, velocity) and values
• envelope limitation types (force, acceleration, velocity) and values
Control Mapping Create, read control mapping

Action Create, read, update, delete action
Sequence Create, read, update, delete a sequence of actions
Set IPv4 configured (for specified network adapter):
• IP address
IPv4
• subnet mask
• default gateway
Enable communication interface:

Communication
• network type (Wi-Fi or Ethernet)
Interface
• enabled/disabled


Set:
• SSID
Wi-Fi
• security key
• automatic connection allowed
Set robot admittance mode (Cartesian, null-space, angular). This allows you to
Admittance
move the robot by applying forces and torques by hand to the robot and joints.
Twist Wrench Set reference frame to use with Twist and Wrench commands. Set to either
Reference frame Tool or Mixed.
Operating mode Set operating mode (Run or Update)
Servoing mode Set servoing mode (high-level, low-level)
Factory defaults Delete all configuration and restores factory defaults
Actuators configuration
Table 29: Actuator configuration (Kinova.Api.ActuatorConfig)

Axis offsets Set actuator axis offset position
Torque offset Set actuator torque offset value
Set actuator control mode. Options:
• position
Control mode • velocity
• current
• custom
Define the contents included in activated control loop. Set bit mask, 1 to
include the data item, 0 to exclude:
• bit 0: joint position
• bit 1: motor position
Activated control loop • bit 2: joint velocity
• bit 3: motor velocity
• bit 4: joint torque
• bit 5: motor current
Configure an individual control loop parameter (joint position, motor position,

joint velocity, motor velocity, joint torque, or motor current).
Configure:
Control loop
• error saturation value
parameters
• output saturation value
• kAz
• kBz


Set vector drive parameters:
• kpq
Vector drive • kiq
parameters
• kpd
• kid
Set encoder derivative parameters:

Encoder derivative
• maximum window width
parameters
• minimum encoder tick count
Set command mode. Options:

• cyclic
Command mode • asynchronous
• cyclic jitter compensation using only position inputs
• cyclic jitter compensation using position and velocity inputs
Servoing Enable servoing.
Device configuration
Table 30: Device configuration (Kinova.Api.DeviceConfig)

Run mode Set device run mode (Run, Calibration, Configuration, Debug, Tuning)
IPv4 settings Set device IPv4 address, subnet mask, default gateway
Vision configuration
Table 31: Vision configuration (Kinova.Api.VisionConfig)

Set several discrete vision sensor settings:
Color sensor
• resolution - 320 x 240, 640 x 480, 1280 x 720, 1920 x 1080

• frame rate - 15, or 30 fps
Sensor • bit rate - 10, 15, 20, or 25 Mbps
• focus mode - manual, continuous normal, or continuous extended
Depth sensor
• resolution - 424 x 240, 480 x 270
• frame rate - 6, 15, or 30 fps
Note: Higher frame rate or resolution requires a higher data

rate for best results
Set the value of any one of a number of camera settings options.

Color image settings:
Options • brightness
• contrast
• saturation


Depth camera settings
• exposure
• gain
• enable auto-exposure
• visual presets
• frames queue size
• enable error polling
• enable output trigger
• depth unit setting in m
st nd
• stereo depth camera baseline distance in mm between 1 and 2
images
Safety items
This section is a reference for Safety items viewable and configurable in the Web
App Configuration page.
Overview
Safety items, and their associated warning and error thresholds are viewable within the
Configuration page of the Web App. There are three categories of safeties:
• Base (controller) safeties
• Actuators safeties
• Interface module safeties
The tables that follow give more information about the safeties, including:
• Description - significance of the safety item
• Hard limit (lower) - the minimum allowable value for the item
• Hard limit (upper) - the maximum allowable value for the item
• Default warning / error threshold - default configurations for the safety thresholds.

Base (controller) safeties
The following Base-related Safety items are viewable in the Web App.
Table 32: Base Safety items
Hard lower Default warning

Safety Item Description
limit upper threshold error
Firmware Indicates a failure in the
n/a n/a
Update Failure firmware update process.
Maximum The ambient temperature is 0.0 °C 70.0 °C
Ambient above upper limit
Temperature 90.0 °C 80.0 °C
Maximum The core temperature is 0.0 °C 75.0 °C

Core above upper limit
Temperature 100.0 °C 85.0 °C
At least one joint is in a fault

Joint Fault n/a n/a
state
Joint The number of detected
Detection joints does not match the n/a n/a
Error configured arm joint count.
Network Arm is detected but control
Initialization bus link is down n/a n/a
Error
Maximum The base current reading is 0.0 A 9.0 A

Current above upper limit
12.0 A 10.0 A
The base voltage reading is 16.0 V 18.0 V
below lower limit
Minimum Note: The minimum
Voltage voltage must be lower than 24.0 V 16.0 V
the maximum voltage
The base voltage reading is 24.0 V 30.0 V

above upper limit.
Maximum Note: The maximum
Voltage voltage must be higher 31.0 V 31.0 V
than the minimum voltage
Emergency stop activated.

Emergency Note: electronic
n/a n/a
Stop Activated protection cannot be
deactivated
Inrush current limiter fault

triggered.
Inrush Current
Note: electronic n/a n/a
Limiter Fault
protection cannot be
deactivated

Actuators safeties
The following actuator-related Safety items are viewable and configurable in the Web
application.
Table 33: Actuator Safety items
lower Default warning

Safety Item Description Hard limit
upper threshold error
The error between 0° 3.0°

the command and the
reported position is
Following Error above upper limit.
10° 5.0°
Note: Only active when
in servoing state
0 °/s 180 °/s

Small
The computed velocity 250 °/s 200 °/s
Max Velocity of the actuator is greater
than threshold °/sec. 0 °/s 100 °/s
Large
150 °/s 120 °/s
0 N·m 29.4 N·m
Small
Maximum Torque reading higher 52 N·m 51.3 N·m
Torque than x N·m. 0 N·m 56.7 N·m
Large
105 N·m 104.5 N·m
Position step of more 0° 3.0°
than threshold °/ms
Magnetic Position
has been read on the 20° 5.0°
magnetic sensor.
0° n/a
Small
Position step of more 10° 0.4285°
Hall Position
than threshold °/ms 0° n/a
Large
10° 0.2145°
Invalid Hall sequence
Hall Sequence n/a n/a
detected.
The Hall sensor position 0° 1.5°
value doesn’t match the
Input Encoder
input optical encoder
Hall Mismatch 10° 2.0°
position within +/-
threshold degrees.
Input Encoder Input encoder index 0 500

Index Mismatch position mismatch
2000 1000

lower Default warning

Safety Item Description Hard limit
upper threshold error
The input optical encoder 0° 10°
position value doesn’t
Input Encoder
match with the magnetic
Magnetic Mismatch 45° 15°
encoder position within
+/- threshold degrees.
0A 6.0 A
Small
The measured current of 8.0 A 7.0 A
Maximum
the motor is above upper
Motor Current 0A 10.0 A
limit
Large
12.0 A 11.0 A
The voltage reading is 16.0 V 18.0 V
below lower limit.
Note: The minimum
Minimum Voltage voltage thresholds must
be lower than the 24.0 V 16.0 V
maximum voltage
thresholds.
The voltage reading is 24.0 V 30.0 V

above upper limit.
Note: The maximum
Maximum Voltage voltage thresholds
must be higher than 31.0 V 31.0 V
the minimum voltage
thresholds.
Maximum Motor Motor temp is above 0.0 °C 60.0 °C

Temperature upper limit 80.0 °C 75.0 °C
Maximum Core Core temp above upper 0.0 °C 80.0 °C

Temperature limit 100.0 °C 90.0 °C
Non-Volatile Non-volatile memory
n/a n/a
Memory Corrupted corrupt
Driver chip reported a

major fault
Motor Driver Fault Note: electronic n/a n/a
protection cannot be
deactivated
Emergency Emergency line asserted.

n/a n/a
Line Asserted Motor drive disabled
Watchdog Triggered Watchdog was triggered n/a n/a

Interface module safeties
The following Interface module-related Safety items are viewable and configurable in the Web
application.
Table 34: Interface Safety items
Safety Description Hard limit lower Default warning

Item threshold
upper error
Maximum The measured motor
Motor current in the connected
Current 3rd party gripper (if
compatible gripper is
n/a n/a
attached) is above the
higher limit. If gripper is
not present the safety is
disabled.
Maximum The motor temperature of
Motor the connected 3rd party
Temperature gripper (if compatible
gripper is attached) is n/a n/a
above the higher limit. If
gripper is not present the
safety is disabled.
Minimum Voltage reading below 16.0 V 18.0 V
Voltage lower limit
Note: minimum voltage
thresholds must be 24.0 V 16.0 V
below maximum voltage
thresholds
Maximum Voltage reading above 24.0 V 30.0

Voltage upper limit
Note: maximum voltage
thresholds must be 31.0 V 31.0
above minimum voltage
thresholds
Maximum Core temperature above 0.0 °C 80.0 °C

Core upper limit
Temp. 100.0 °C 90.0 °C
Non- Non-volatile memory

Volatile corrupt
n/a n/a
Memory
Corrupted
Emergency Emergency line asserted.
Line Motor drive disabled n/a n/a
Asserted
Watchdog Watchdog triggered
n/a n/a
Triggered

KINOVA® KORTEX™ Web App User Guide

Introduction
®
The following sections describe the KINOVA KORTEX™ Web App. The Web App is a useful
interface for controlling, configuring and monitoring the robotic arm.
This pages that follow describe the purpose, layout, and use of the Web App.
Purpose
This section describes the purpose of the Web App.
The Web App is an HTML GUI (Graphical User Interface) that runs on the robot. This web
interface allows users to configure, control and monitor the robot through a web browser
interface from a computer connected to the robot over a wired Ethernet or Wi-Fi connection.
Device availability of Web App

This section describes the device availability of the Web App.
The Web App is a responsive web application. It is designed to adapt itself to various aspect
ratios and resolutions enabling it to run on multiple platforms that support the Google Chrome
browser. This includes:
• desktop / laptop computer
• tablet computer
• smartphone
Figure 28: Desktop

Figure 29: Tablet

Figure 30: Smartphone
Platform and browser support

This section describes platform and browser support for the Web App. The
Web App has the following platform and browser support.
Browser support
Support for Google Chrome version 64+ is available on the following platforms:
Operating system support
• Microsoft Windows 7/8/10

• Ubuntu LTS 16.04
• Android 8.1 and higher
Other browsers and platforms are not currently supported - some features may work
differently in those cases. Support for other major browsers is planned for the near future.
User login
This section describes how to log in to the Web App.
After establishing a network connection between your device and the robot, open a web
browser and enter the IP address for the robot base external interface.
The Web App will launch, ending in a login popup.

Figure 31: Launching...
Enter your user name and password and press the CONNECT button.
The default username and password when the robot first arrives are:
• username: admin
• password: admin
Figure 32: User login
On pressing CONNECT, the Web App will launch and initialize. While it is doing this, the Web
App will give visual feedback to the user on the status of initialization of the application and
loading of robot configurations into the application.

Figure 33: Initializing...
Figure 34: Getting robot configurations
Web App layout and navigation

This section describes the layout and navigation of the Web App.
The Web App screen is divided into several main sections:
• Main navigation panel

• Main information panel
• Notification bar
• Shortcuts panel
• Robot control panel
• Mode indicator, user icon, and E-stop

Figure 35: Web application Layout
Pages panel
In the middle of the screen is the main information panel containing the contents of each page of
the application.
The pages panel on the left of the screen gives easy access to the main pages of the application:
•
Notifications
•
Camera
•
Configuration
•
Actions
•
Protection Zones
•
Controllers
•
Networks
•
Users
•
System Information
•
Monitoring
•
Upgrade

Note: When the screen or window size is small (on a tablet or smartphone browser, or when the
app is viewed in a small desktop window), the navigation panel will be hidden by default. If you
click on the menu icon in the upper left hand corner of the screen, the navigation panel will be
made visible.
Information about the current version of the Web App is visible below the main navigational
panel.
Shortcuts panel
A small panel of shortcut icons to useful common pages appears in the lower left of the screen,
as follows:
•
Home (monitoring page) - information panel for monitoring the robot stats
•
Notifications page - view notifications for the robot during the session
•
Actions - Create actions: poses and sequences of poses of the robot that can be saved
and replayed
•
Controllers - configure and choose active gamepad control mode
•
Camera - view camera feed from robot video module
Notification bar
The notification bar at the top of the page gives a visible, high-level summary of information in
the Notifications Center. It displays the most recent events coming from the robot, as well as a
count of outstanding warnings and errors.
In the upper right hand corner of the screen are three indicators / controls:
• control mode - status of the control mode situation of the robot. There are four icons to
indicate the mode / state:
º
Fault - robot is in fault

º
Idle - robot is not currently being controlled by any user session; waiting
º
Running - robot being actively controlled in Cartesian or angular control

º
Admittance - robot is being controlled in an admittance mode
•
User profile icon - Shows the user session icon
•
Emergency Stop (E-stop) - button control which when pressed / tapped will initiate the
emergency stop of the robot.
Clicking on any of these items displays a pop-up showing further information.

Robot control panel

In the lower right is the virtual joysticks / admittance panel. This panel consists of a group of five
buttons. Three are to launch pop-up windows for virtual joystick controls and admittance mode
toggles
•
Cartesian Virtual Joystick
•
Angular mode control
•
Admittance controls
The virtual joysticks allow you to control the movement of the robot without the use of a
physical controller.
Admittance mode lets you to move the robot with your hands in one of three (Cartesian, joint,
and null space) admittance modes.
In the same area there are two other controls:
•
Play action - play a selected action
•
Camera feed - view camera feed
Clicking on one of the buttons in the robot control panel will launch a smaller window from the
bottom of the screen, revealing the selected control panel.
Clicking the same button again will clear the smaller window at the bottom.
Snapshot tool
The snapshot tool gives the ability to capture a "snapshot" of a robot pose. This is a useful
feature to help with building pre-set sequences (for demos or to capture / program a fixed set of
movements). There are three types of snapshots:
•
Cartesian pose
•
Joints pose
•
Gripper pose
The snapshot tool is available at the bottom on all pages.
Robot control panel
Cartesian virtual joystick control

This section describes the Cartesian virtual joystick control interface of the Web App.
The Cartesian virtual joystick panel allows users to control the position and orientation of the
end effector through the Web App using a mouse (on laptop or desktop computer) or touch
control (on a tablet or smartphone).

Figure 36: Cartesian joystick panel
The Cartesian virtual joystick panel is launched by clicking the first button ( ) on the robot
control panel.
Translation / orientation joystick controls
The Cartesian virtual joystick controls allow you to control the translation and orientation of
the end effector. There are two sets of joysticks:
• translation (to apply a translation to the end effector)
• orientation (to apply a rotation to the end effector at the current position)
Together, the three position coordinates and the three orientation directions specify the
Cartesian pose of the robotic arm.
Each set of joysticks features a 2-axis joystick for controlling the x and y axes, and a 1-axis
joystick to control in the z-axis. For the 2-axis translation joystick, the user can configure the
joystick axis that is assigned to control the y direction movement.
As the controls are moved, a display is provided for the current position (x, y, z) and orientation
(θx, θy, θz) of the end effector.
Finger controls
It is possible to open and close the fingers using a single 1-axis joystick control (if a gripper is
installed). Push the control up to open the fingers and down to close. The fingers position can be
controlled between 0% (fully closed) and 100% (fully open).
Additional settings
By clicking the settings gear icon, additional settings controls are revealed. These let the user
change the position reference frame (Cartesian or tool), or switch the defaults for the z and θz
controls.
Z and θz toggles
The default for the 1-axis z-direction controls is that 'up' increases the z-position or z-angle,
while 'down' decreases it. This can be reversed using the Invert Z and Invert θz toggles.
Reference frames
The position of the end effector can be specified in one of two reference frames:

• the fixed base reference frame

• the tool reference frame
The tool reference frame is useful when controlling the robot using visual feedback from the
camera sensors. The joystick will control movement of the end effector with respect to the tool
reference frame, which is very close to the reference frame of the camera. This makes it easy to
command the robot in relation to what is seen through the camera.
The translational speed (for change of position) and rotational speed (for change of orientation)
can be adjusted between 0 and 100% of the hard limits for the robot using the and
buttons.
Angular virtual joystick control

This section describes the angular virtual joystick control interface of the Web App.
The angular virtual joystick panel allows users to control the robot joint angles through the Web
App using a mouse (or touch control on a tablet or smartphone).
Figure 37: Angular virtual joystick panel
The joint angles can be controlled through:

• angular velocity (control the angular speed of each actuator)
The angular joystick panel is launched by clicking the second button on the robot control
panel.
The virtual joystick controls allow you to control the angle of each actuator as well as the
opening and closing of the fingers (if a gripper is installed). As the virtual joystick controls are
manipulated, the robot arm joints respond accordingly.
Note: For joints 2, 4 and 6 there are physical limits to how far the joint can turn without the
arm shell segments running into each other. The robot enforces software joint angle limits
to prevent these joints from reaching the physical limits. When you control these joints, the
software will cause the arm joints to stop responding when the limits are reached on the actual
robot.

The value of each angle is displayed in degrees. The value displayed will be restricted to one full
rotation.
The maximum angular speed (or torque) for each actuator can be adjusted using the and
buttons. Each actuator can be adjusted between 0 and 100% of the hard maximums for the
joints.
There are two ways to control the angle of each actuator:
• type in a numerical value
• use the virtual joystick controls to apply a velocity or torque in the given direction. Pushing
the joystick up causes the angle to increase, while pushing it down causes it to decrease. The
further up or down the joystick is pushed, the higher the angular speed (or torque applied)
for the joint, up to the set limit. The angle will continue to change as long as the joystick is
being pushed.
Another joystick allows users to control the end effector finger position (if an end effector
is installed). The values for the finger state range between 0% (fully closed) and 100% (fully
open). Push the joystick to the right to increase the percentage (and open the fingers). Push the
joystick to the left to decrease the percentage (and close the fingers).
Virtual joystick keyboard shortcuts

This section describes keyboard shortcuts for the Web App virtual joysticks.
Introduction
The virtual joysticks for the Web App are controllable with mouse or touch inputs. Some
people (particularly those with a background in PC gaming) may find it more natural to control
using keyboard shortcuts. If you are accessing the Web App using a desktop device that has a
keyboard (such as a desktop or laptop PC) there are handy keyboard shortcuts available for the
joystick controls.
Cartesian joysticks keyboard shortcuts
Table 35: Pose translation joystick shortcuts
Control Shortcut
increase translation D
X
decrease translation A
increase translation W
Y
decrease translation S
increase translation R
Z
decrease translation F
Table 36: Pose orientation joystick shortcuts
Control Shortcut key

increase angle right arrow
X
decrease angle left arrow
increase angle up arrow
Y
decrease angle down arrow
Z increase angle right shift


decrease angle right control
Angular joystick keyboard shortcuts

increase angle 1
Actuator 1
decrease angle Q
increase angle 2
Actuator 2
decrease angle W
increase angle 3
Actuator 3
decrease angle E
increase angle 4
Actuator 4
decrease angle R
increase angle 5
Actuator 5
decrease angle T
increase angle 6
Actuator 6
decrease angle Y
increase angle 7
Actuator 7
decrease angle U
Put another way, the angles for joints 1-7 can be increased using the keys 1-7 on the top of the
keyboard.
The angles can be descreased using the letter keys QWERTYU on the top row of the keyboard.
Admittance modes panel

This section describes the admittance mode panel of the Web App.
The Admittance Mode panel is brought up by clicking the hand icon in the robot control
panel. The panel slides up from the bottom of the screen.
Figure 38: Admittance modes panel
An admittance mode is one in which the control systems of the robot take into account external
force / torque feedback from its environment.
From this panel, the arm can be set into one of three types of admittance mode:
• Cartesian admittance mode - end effector moves linearly according to the wrench (force +
torque) applied on the end effector
• Joint admittance mode - joints of the arm rotate according to the external torques applied at
the joint

• Null Space admittance mode - end effector stays in the same pose while the user manipulates
the joints of the arm (within the null space). The arm moves within the null space according to
the external torques applied.
It is also possible to take advantage of the admittance mode to manually move the robot into a
pose and then capture a snapshot of that pose for future reference (Normally, when not in an
admittance mode, the joints will resist being manipulated by external forces / torques).
From the admittance mode panel it is possible to add a Cartesian or Angular pose by clicking the
snapshot button .
Main pages
Notifications
This section describes the notification center of the Web App.
The Notifications page is a central location for viewing all notifications related to the
robot. The Notification Center can be accessed either from the main navigational panel or from
the top notification bar (by selecting All).
Figure 39: Notification Center
Users can either view all notifications, or view notifications by type. There are four types of
notifications:
• Config - indicates a change in robot configuration such as creating, modifying, deleting, or
activating a User Profile, Protection Zone, Action or Control mapping
• Info - information message for the user
• Warning - Warning state reached. Arm parameter is moving out of the normal range and will
reach Error state if the trend continues.
• Error - Error state reached. Arm parameter is significantly outside normal bounds. Triggers
an emergency stop.
The notifications list appearing in the window can be sorted by Type, Date, User, and Item,
either in increasing or decreasing order.
If there are many notifications of a particular type, they will be grouped into pages.
Note: In the current release of the web application, information displayed in the Notification
Center is stored on the client device where the web application is accessed. The events

displayed are only those that have occurred since the web application was opened. These events
will be lost when the application is closed.
Camera
This section describes the Camera page of the Web App.
The Camera page allows you to see the video feed from the installed vision module.
Figure 40: Camera page
There are four controls available on this page:

•
Start auto-focus
•
Pause auto-focus
•
Focus now
•
Disable auto-focus
Configurations
This section describes the Configurations page of the Web App.
The Configurations page allows users to configure different aspects of the arm hardware
and set safeties.

Figure 41: Configurations page
The settings menu is divided into four tabs:

• Base
• Actuators
• Interconnect (interface module)
• Vision
Each of these tabs contain two sub-tabs:
• Configurations
• Safety
Configurations tab
This section describes the Configurations tab of the Web App Configurations page.
Configurations
The Configurations tab of the Configurations page lets you use a GUI to adjust the configurable
parameters of the robot hardware to customize its behavior.
Figure 42: Configurations
The configurable items are broken into four sections:

• Base
• Vision
• Actuators

Most of the configurable parameters of the robot can be configured on this page. Some other
configurable items are handled on their own pages:
• Protection Zones
• Control Mappings
• Actions
• User Profiles
• Network Settings
For more information on configurable parameters, refer to the section on Configurable
parameters.
Safety tab
This section describes the Safety tab of the Web App configurations page.
Safety
The Safety tab allows users to view safety thresholds. There are two types of safety thresholds:
• Error - An error is a departure from normal parameters that is more serious than warnings
and represents a situation which could damage the robot or endanger the user. The
thresholds for errors are set at a more extreme level than warning thresholds.
Note: An error triggers an emergency stop for the robot.
• Warning - A warning serves to signal that the robot is moving away from normal operational
status toward an error state. A warning will not stop the robot.
Note: Some safety items do not have warning thresholds, only error thresholds.
In the Web App, warning thresholds are marked in orange and error thresholds are marked in
red.
Note: In the current release, safety items can be viewed but not modified in the Web App. In
addition, all safety items are enabled and cannot be deactivated. It will be possible to modify and
disable some safeties in a future release.
Figure 43: Safety tab contents
Activating / deactivating safety items

Not currently supported. To be supported in future release.
Restoring defaults
Not currently supported. To be supported in future release.

Detailed safeties information

For more detailed information on robot safety thresholds, see here.
Actions
This section describes the Actions page of the Web App.
The Actions page allows user to define, view, and edit robot actions, as well as build
sequences and play back actions and sequences.
Figure 44: Actions page
Actions available in the Web App are:

• Pose (Cartesian pose)
• Angular (Joint angle combinations)
• End Effector (Gripper pose)
• Sequence
Cartesian poses represent a single Cartesian pose for the robot. A pose consists of x, y, and z
coordinates representing the position of the end effector, and the three angles θx, θy, and θz
representing the orientation of the end effector.
Angular represents the set of joint angles for each of the arm joints.
End effector represents the gripper state, from 0% (fully open) to 100% (fully closed).
Note: Currently the Robotiq 2-finger gripper is supported.
A Sequence is defined as a sequence of 'keyframe' poses on a timeline, which are interpolated
by the software in the robot base to produce intermediate frames to generate smooth motion.
Sequences are a sequential combination of Cartesian poses, angular settings, and end effector
poses. Sequences may also include timed delays between movements.
The main information panel of the page shows cards with all the defined actions and sequences.
New actions or sequences can be added with the + icon in the lower right of the main panel. This
launches a menu where you can select the type of new item to create.

Figure 45: '+' menu
If the screen gets crowded after a while, you have the option to filter to show only the chosen
types of actions.
Figure 46: Action filter
Information about defined actions is viewable in information cards which come in two sizes,
small and large, which can be toggled with buttons at the top of the main panel. The large cards
carry full information about the action.

Figure 47: Information card
From the large cards, you are able to:

• edit the action
• delete the action
• duplicate the action
• assign a color code to the card
• Export a representation of the action to XML or JSON
Small cards on the other hand show a more compact view, with the functions other than Play
hidden. By clicking More, you can access a pop-up with the remaining functions.

Figure 48: 'More' pop-up menu
Chosing Edit brings up an interface to modify the parameters of the action.
Figure 49: Parameter modifications
Creating actions using snapshot tool
The snapshot button ( ) at the bottom of the screen can be used to capture the current
robot Cartesian pose, angular pose, or gripper state. Any pose captured by the snapshot tool will
show up on the actions page. For more information, see the snapshot tool page.

Sequence editor
This section describes the sequence editor on the Web App Actions page.
Choosing More > Edit for a sequence on the Actions page brings up a sequence editor panel.
Figure 50: Sequence editor
The sequence editor is made up of three sections:

• sequence timeline
• actions library
• edit action
The sequence timeline shows the steps in the sequence. The link icon ( ) on a step
indicates that the action is a reference to an existing standalone action.
Note: If that standalone action is modified outside this sequence it will have an impact on the
sequence.
The actions library shows the already saved actions, organized into tabs grouped by type.
Clicking one of the available actions adds it to the sequence. There is also an option to add the
Current Position to the sequence. Depending on what actions tab you are in, this will add the
current position as a Cartesian pose, as joints position, or as gripper fingers position.
The edit action section lets you directly edit the parameters of the action.
The link icon indicates that the action referred to in the Sequence is a reference to an existing
standalone action. If that standalone action is modified outside this sequence it will have an
impact on the sequence. By opposition, if the action (for example the first one in your screen
capture) does not have that link icon, it means that it does not exist outside the Sequence.
Deleting actions or re-ordering the steps of a sequence
If you want to change the position of an action in the sequence, or remove it from the sequence
entirely, simply hover over the left side of the box for the action until the cursor changes from a
hand icon to a two-dimensional arrow icon.
Click and drag to move the selected action. To move it to another position, drag the action and
release it in the desired position. The dotted outline will indicate where the action is in the
sequence.

Notice that a red garbage can icon will also appear when an action is selected to move. To delete
the action from the sequence, drag the action onto the garbage can until the garbage can visibly
expands.
Then release to delete.
Importing and exporting actions or sequences

This section describes functionalities available on the Actions page for importing and
exporting actions or sequences.
You can Export All defined actions or sequences as XML or JSON, to share with others. Similarly,
a JSON or XML action file can be imported from the computer. The Export All and
Import functions are available at the top of the main panel.
Playing back actions and sequences

This section describes how to play back actions and sequences
When an action or sequence is selected by clicking on its card, the item is loaded in a playback
bar at the bottom of the page.
When the play button is pressed, the robot will move directly to execute the described action or
sequence.

The hold to play toggle (by default, activated) controls the playback. When the toggled on, the
playback will only continue as long as the play button is held down. When not toggled on, a
single press of the play button will suffice for the playback to execute completely.
The pause button will stop the playback while keeping the playhead at the same position. When
the play button is pressed again, the motion will continue exactly where it left off.
The stop button will stop the movement and return the playhead to the beginning.
In the case of a Cartesian, angular, or gripper pose, the robot (or gripper) will interpolate linearly
between the present pose and the target pose and move smoothly and directly to the target
pose.
For a sequence, the robot will first go directly to the the first item in the sequence, and then will
trace out a smooth path that goes through the poses on the sequence. A progress bar above the
playback bar shows the progress of the playback through the steps.
For sequences, an additional looping control can be toggled on or off. When toggled on, a
sequence will play through all the steps and then go directly to the pose of the first step. This is
useful for demonstrations.
Protection Zones
This section describes the Protection Zones page of the Web App.
The Protection Zones page allows user to define three-dimensional geometric volumes
about the robot where the robot either cannot go or where the maximum speed is reduced.
A protection zone is intended to limit the possibility of the robot running into either the user
or objects near the robot. Protection zones only work when controlling the robot in Cartesian
mode - when controlling the robot in Angular mode, they are ignored.
Figure 51: Protection Zones page
The Protection Zones page allows for defining multiple protection zones. The defined
protection zones are displayed as cards in the main information panel. The cards can be
displayed in three different sizes:
• Small
• Medium
• Large
The card sizes can be toggled using buttons at the top of the main information window. The
large cards show fuller detail about the settings for the protection zone, namely whether the
Envelope Translation Speed Limit and Envelope Orientation Speed Limit are turned on. It also

includes controls to activate, edit, delete, and duplicate protection zones, as well as to apply a
color code to the card.
Figure 52: Protection Zone card
Medium cards are somewhat smaller than the large, with all the same information and controls,
except for the ability to apply a color code to the card.
Small cards show a more compact view. Only the name of the protection zone and a toggle to
activate the zone are displayed. By clicking More, a pop-up menu gives options to edit, delete, or
duplicate the protection zone.
Figure 53: 'More' menu
Multiple protection zones can be active at the same time.

A new protection can be added by clicking the + sign icon in the lower right of the main
information panel. This will create a new, empty protection zone, and add a new card to
the page. By clicking Edit, a new interface window is launched where you can configure the
protection zone.

Figure 54: Configure protection zone
There are two tabs:

• Zone Shape - for defining the protection zone geometry
• Limits - for setting limits on velocity within an envelope surrounding the shape.
Zone Shapes
Three protection zone shapes are available:
• Rectangular prism
• Sphere
• Cylinder
The dimensions of the zone (in cm) are configurable:
• For a Prism shape, this means height, width, and depth
• For a cylinder, this means the height and radius
• For a sphere, it means the radius
In addition, a thickness (in cm) can be defined around the outside of the protection zone where
motion is allowed but velocity is limited.
The default is for the protection zone to be centered on the robot base, with its z-axis aligned
with the base z-axis. However, this is also configurable. The center of the protection zone can be
displaced in the x, y, and z directions. It can also be rotated around each of the base axes.
Limits
Figure 55: Limits tab
Under the Limits tab, limitations can be set for the protection zone. Limits between 0 and 10
cm/s can be set for:

• Envelope Translation Speed

• Envelope Orientation Speed
In addition, the thickness of the envelope can be configured between 0 and 1000 cm.
Controllers
This section describes the Controllers page of the Web App.
The Controllers page lets you view and toggle between the defined control mappings for
any physical controllers associated with the robot.
Figure 56: Controllers page
A mapping is a correspondence between the different controls on the controller and the
resulting action produced in the robot.
There are two default controllers:
•
Xbox Mapping
•
Wrist Mapping
The XBox Mapping is for a generic Xbox gamepad. The robot has three preset control mappings
defined for the Xbox gamepad. These mappings correspond to the mappings that can be toggled
using the physical buttons on the gamepad.
• Xbox 360 Twist Linear
• Xbox 360 Twist Angular
• Xbox 360 Joint
The Wrist Mapping is for the two buttons on the wrist of the robot. The preset mapping
corresponds to the factory default settings for the two wrist buttons - namely enabling
Cartesian or Nullspace admittance mode.
The main information panel of the Controllers page has cards with control mapping information
for each controller. The cards are in two sizes, large and small.
Hitting the edit button on a card brings up a window with tabs for the different control mapping
modes available for the controller.

Figure 57: Xbox Mapping tab
Figure 58: Wrist Mapping tab
At any given time, one map is set as active for the controller. The active controller map is
indicated with a check mark icon. Another mapping can be set as active by clicking on the tab for
the mapping.
Networks
This section describes the Networks page of the Web App.
The Networks page is used to set network parameters for:

• Ethernet
• Wi-Fi

Figure 59: Networks page
The page has two tabs, one for each connection method.
The Ethernet Settings tab allows you to configure:
• IPv4 address
• IPv4 subnet mask
• IPv4 default Gateway
The Wi-Fi Settings tab allows you to enable Wi-Fi networking with the robot and find and
connect to available Wi-Fi networks.
Figure 60: Wi-Fi Settings tab
Users
This section describes the Users page of the Web App.
The Users page is used to define, set, and edit user profiles for the robot.

Figure 61: Users page
Defined profiles are displayed as information cards on the main information panel of the page.
The cards are in three different sizes:
• large
• medium
• small
Card sizes can be toggled using buttons on the upper right of the main information panel.
Large cards show a full set of information. The large card displays the user name and language.
Medium cards are slightly smaller.
Small cards show a more compact view. By clicking the More button, a pop-up menu is revealed
to allow you to View, Edit, Delete, or Duplicate the profile.
Clicking Edit brings you to an editing interface where it is possible to configure the profile.
Figure 62: Card editing interface
Creating a new user profile

This section describes how to create a new user profile in the Web App.
About this task
Procedure
1.
On the Users page, press the button to add a new empty user profile. This will bring up
a window to enter information for the profile.

2. Enter the information for the user profile including name, user name, and password.
3. When you are done adding information, press ADD to create the new user profile.
Results
The new user profile will be created. The next time you log on to the Web App, you will be
able to log in with these credentials.
System Information
This section describes the System Information page of the Web App.
The System Information page gives a quick high level view of hardware and firmware
configuration details.
Figure 63: System Information page
The information on the page is displayed within different tabs:

• Base
• Actuators

• Interconnect (interface module)

• Vision
For all devices, information is given on:
• bootloader version
• device type
• firmware version
• MAC address
• model, part, and serial number
Monitoring
This section describes the Monitoring page of the Web App.
The Monitoring page allows for real-time monitoring of status and performance
information for the robot. The monitoring page is the first page that opens when opening a new
session using the Web App.
Figure 64: Monitoring page
The monitoring information is divided into six sections:

• Base
• Actuators
• Interconnect
• End effector
There are two tabbed views available, selectable through three tabs at the top of the screen:
• Overview
• Detailed
Overview tab contents
The Overview tab shows the following information in each section:
• Base
º operating mode (maintenance, update, shutting down, run, in fault)
º control mode (angular joystick, Cartesian joystick, torque control, Cartesian admittance,
null space admittance)
º servoing mode (single level (high level), low level)
• Actuators - for each joint:
º measured position (°)

º measured torque (N·m)

º measured velocity (° / s)
• Interconnect
º acceleration - x, y, and z (m / s2)
º angular velocity x, y, and z of interconnect (° / s)
• End effector
º position and orientation - x, y, z, θx, θy, θz
º velocity - x, y, z, θx, θy, θz
º tool Twist - x, y, z, θx, θy, θz
Detailed tab contents
The detailed tab shows the following information in each section:
• Base
º operating mode (maintenance, update, shutting down, run, in fault)
º control mode (angular joystick, Cartesian joystick, torque control, Cartesian admittance,
null space admittance)
º servoing mode (single level (high level), low level)
º arm voltage (V)
º arm current (A)
º CPU core temperature (°C)
º ambient temperature (°C)
º acceleration x, y, z of the base (m / s2)
º angular velocity x, y, z of base (° / s)
• Actuators - for each joint:
º measured position (°)
º measured velocity (° / s)
º measured torque (N·m)
º motor current (A)
º voltage (V)
º motor temperature (°C)
º core temperature (°C)
• Interconnect
º acceleration x, y, z of interface (m / s2)
º angular velocity x, y, z of interface (° / s)
º voltage (V)
º core temperature (°C)
• End effector
º position and orientation - x, y, z, θx, θy, θz
º tool Twist - x, y, z, θx, θy, θz
Exporting a snapshot of monitoring data
It is possible to export a snapshot of the currenting monitoring data for the robot.
By pressing the snapshot data button ( ), you have the ability to save a dump of the
monitoring data locally on your computer to JSON format. This can be useful information to
share with Kinova support for troubleshooting purposes.

Upgrade
This section describes the Upgrade page of the Web App.
The Upgrade page provides a simple interface to perform upgrades to the robot.
Robot upgrade files are bundled as a package (.swu file).
The robot upgrade package includes:
• robot devices firmware updates:
º base controller
º actuators
º interface module
º vision module
• Web App upgrade package
• KINOVA® KORTEX™ API upgrade package
Figure 65: Upgrade page
The upgrade page provides an interface to upload a new upgrade package and initiate the
upgrade.
®
The page also provides information on the current Web App and KINOVA KORTEX™ API
versions, as well as the current firmware versions of the robot devices.

Upgrading the robot firmware and software
This section describes the process to upgrade the robot firmware and software using the Web App.
Before you begin
• A new robot update package needs to have been previously downloaded to the development
computer.
• The development computer needs to be connected to the robot, either via wired Ethernet
connection or via Wi-Fi.
• The user needs to have a Web App session open on the robot.
About this task
The Web App is used to upgrade the robot firmware and software using a new upgrade
package on the development computer. The upgrade package covers all devices in the
arm, and all devices are upgraded as part of this process.
Procedure
1. Browse to the Web App Upgrade page.
2. Click the Upload button on "Upload New Software."
3. Browse the development PC disk to select the new firmware package. The new package will
upload to the robot. If the upload is unsuccessful, you will receive an error message. If it is
successful, the process will continue.
4. The upgrade process will proceed automatically as soon as the firmware package uploads
successfully. The Web App will indicate when the process is finished.
Snapshot tool
This section describes the snapshot tool.
The snapshot tool lets users capture a snapshot of a current pose.

Pressing the snapshot button reveals a set of three snapshot pose options:
•
Cartesian pose
•
Joints pose
•
Gripper pose
Pressing one of the respective snapshot buttons will capture a snapshot of that type of pose
the robot is currently in. The pose will be saved, and will show up as one of the saved Actions
viewable in the Actions page.

KINOVA® KORTEX™ Developer Guide

Introduction
This section of the documentation provides guidance on developing custom software

applications for the robot.
®
Your robot is enabled by KINOVA KORTEX™, the new Kinova software framework and
application development platform. This growing and evolving framework will allow you
to configure and control the robot programmatically, adapting to your specific needs and
®
supporting you in integrating new Kinova products into robotics applications. The KINOVA
®
KORTEX™ API is currently available only for the KINOVA Gen3 Ultra lightweight robot, but will
also support future robot products from Kinova as a cross-hardware development framework.
APIs are currently provided for the following languages:
• C++
• Python
Kinova also offers ROS packages covering most of the same functionalities.
The pages that follow describe the general philosophy and approach of the APIs.
The GitHub kinovarobotics/kortex and kinovarobotics/ros_kortex respositories contain
additional developer guidance and resources, including detailed API documentation, setup
instructions, and source code examples.
Devices and services

This section describes the concept of devices and services in the robot.
The API consists of services which define interfaces implemented and available on the various
robot devices.
The robot consists of several devices:
• base controller
• actuators (each actuator is a distinct device)
• interface module
• vision module
A service consists of methods and communication exchange data structures. The devices
in the robot each implement a particular set of services, some of which are available across
multiple devices. The methods available as part of a service on a device are accessed via remote
procedure calls (RPC).

Figure 66: Services on multiple devices
Available services
This section lists the available robot services.
Kinova makes available a number of services for developers, each of which includes functions
and data types supported for C++ and Python.
• Session - provides functions for opening and closing sessions with the robot. This service is
used at the beginning and end of every session with the robot to authenticate the user. Note:
In practice, end users will not use the Session service directly, but will use a SessionManager
object. See the GitHub documentation for more details.
• Base - broadly useful service. Provides functions for configuring a range of base-related
functionalities as well as high-level control for the robot.
• DeviceManager - provides a list of device information used for internal communication
routing purposes.
• Cyclic data communications (sending commands to devices and/or receiving status feedback
on a periodic or as-requested basis). Cyclic data communications are used with low-level
servoing, and are intended to be called by API clients as part of a user-defined 1 kHz control
loop.
º For low-level servoing cyclic communication
• BaseCyclic- sending commands to actuators and interface module, obtain feedback
from base, actuators and interface module
• Configuration related
º ActuatorConfig - get / set actuator configuration
º DeviceConfig - get / set general device configuration
º VisionConfig - get / set vision module configuration

®
For full details on available services, see the KINOVA KORTEX™ GitHub repository.
Users, connections and sessions

This section describes the concept of connections and sessions in the API.
Introduction
A user has a connection with the robot when communication is established between the client
application and the robot.
A session is active when the user has used the connection to log in to the robot with credentials.
The default session credentials for the robot are:
• user: admin
• password: admin
A session is opened using a SessionManager object.
Sessions and robot control
Multiple users can connect to the same robot simultaneously, and have multiple sessions open
on the robot.
A session must be created before commands can be received by the base (otherwise they will be
discarded). Sessions are only supported for communications routed through the base. Sessions
are not supported for communications between a client computer and a device.
Currently, high-level servoing for the robot only work in single-level servoing mode. Multi-level
servoing is not currently supported. What this means is that multiple sessions can be active
on the robot, and multiple users can pull data from the robot. However, only one session can
actively control the robot at any given time. Rules are in place on the robot base to manage
which session has control of the robot at any given time.
Services, methods, and messages

This section describes the concept of messages used by functions within services.
The API services offer a set of RPC and pub/sub methods. The methods exchange data which are
structured as Google Protocol Buffer message objects.
®
KINOVA KORTEX™ API and Google Protocol Buffer
This section describes the use of Google Protocol Buffer for the KINOVA® KORTEX™ API.
On Google Protocol Buffer
®
The KINOVA KORTEX™ API is based on the Google Protocol Buffer 3 mechanism for
serializing structured data. Using Protocol Buffer, the Kortex API is made available in C++ and
Python languages.
®
Developers accustomed to Protocol Buffer can see .proto files on the KINOVA KORTEX™
GitHub repository. These files are published as a means to document the services and methods
offered via the API.
The API data structures are based on Google Protocol Buffer messages. Extensive
documentation has been made available by Google explaining the different mechanisms
offered to:
• set a field in a message
• read a OneOf element in a message
• go through a nested object

• set a nested object

• get/set a collection
For more details on how the above works, check out the following documentation on the
Google Protocol Buffer website:
• C++ tutorial: https://developers.google.com/protocol-buffers/docs/reference/cpp-generated
• Python tutorial: https://developers.google.com/protocol-buffers/docs/reference/python-
generated
Service client-server model

This section describes the client-server model for services.
Services operate on a client-server model. The server component of the service runs on the
device itself. The client component runs on the client computer.
Services offer a set of device functionalities which are transparently exposed to the end-user via
RPC and pub/sub methods.
The API is built on a transparent client/server communication protocol which allows an end-
user (client side) to call methods on robot devices.
Notifications
This section describes the concept of notifications in the API.
The robot base can provide notifications on different topics as requested by a client application
that has a session open with the robot.
The robot base uses a Publish/Subscribe design pattern. That is, rather than needing to poll
periodically for updates, the client application subscribes to a list of Topics. Whenever a change
happens related to that topic, whether caused by the same client session, or another, a publisher
sends a notification to all subscribers. Notifications are surfaced to clients via the API, and are
also displayed in the Notifications page of the Web app.
Client applications can also unsubcribe from a topic.
Methods for subscribing and unsubscribing from notification topics are descrcibed in the API
®
documentation on the KINOVA KORTEX™ GitHub respository.
Blocking and non-blocking calls

This section describes the concept of blocking vs. non-blocking calls in the context of RPCs
on the robot.
The API defines interfaces of methods to be executed on devices in the robot.
The methods can be one of two types, depending on what the client application does while
waiting for the response:
• blocking
• non-blocking
With a blocking call, the flow of the client application will pause and wait for the remote
procedure call to return a response before proceeding. With non-blocking call, the procedure
call is sent, and the flow of the application carries on while waiting for the response. When the
response arrives, the caller will handle the response.
For the Python API, only blocking calls are enabled.
In the context of C++, remote procedure calls in the API can in general be set as either blocking
or non-blocking.

There are two types of non-blocking calls available in the C++ API:
• Future / Promise
• Registered callback
®
For more information on how this works, see the API documentation on the KINOVA
KORTEX™ GitHub respository.
Robot servoing modes

This section describes the concept of servoing modes on the robot.
There are multiple servoing modes on the robot. A servoing mode is a modality through which
commands are transmitted to robot devices during operation. Depending on the servoing mode
chosen, the details involved in controlling via the API will be different.
There are two servoing modes:
• High-level
• Low-level
High-level servoing
This section describes the concept of high-level servoing with the robot.
High-level servoing is the default servoing mode for the robot on bootup.
In high-level servoing, users connect to the base through the API (whether directly, or through
the Web App built on top of the API), sending command inputs. The base routes commands to
the actuators, and manages a 1 kHz control loop.
High-level servoing is the recommended servoing mode for non-advanced users.
High-level servoing allows a client to control the robot by sending it a target (angular or
Cartesian) position or velocity via an API method which is sent once (i.e. no high frequency
client-controlled communication between the client PC and the robot). High level API calls
are redirected to the robot control library to calculate inverse kinematics (breaking down
the command into commands for actuators) and apply limits (protection zones, singularity
management, self-collision avoidance).
The base then manages the execution of the command via the 1 kHz communications with the
actuators.
Low-level servoing offers lighter and faster API methods, but at the cost of having to manage
these details yourself.
Figure 67: High-level servoing

High-level servoing can in theory be either single-level (one user controls the robot at a time in
high-level servoing) or multi-level (multiple users simultaneously control the robot at the same
time).
Note: Currently only single-level servoing is supported by the API.
Sessions and control permissions
As soon as someone takes control of the robot by sending a control command (whether from
API calls, Web App session, or Xbox gamepad input) to the robot, the control mode changes from
IDLE to SERVOING. In this mode, control commands from other sessions sent via the Web App
or API methods will be blocked while the control mode is in SERVOING and this session has
control. However, after a predefined "grace period" of 7.5 seconds elapses with no new control
commands from the user, the robot control mode returns to IDLE and someone else can take
control by sending control inputs via the Web App or API calls.
Override by physical controls
Physical controls of the robot via a connected Xbox gamepad or the buttons on the robot wrist
override user session control of the robot via Web App or API calls. These physical controls
always take precedence immediately, without having to wait for the grace period to elapse.
Low-level servoing
This section describes the concept of low-level servoing with the robot.
In low-level servoing, the API client connects to the base and sends commands through the base
for routing.
The base ensures device routing and internal communications with the actuators at 1 kHz,
but the high-level functionalities for the base control loop (robot kinematics, trajectory
management, etc.) are no longer available.
Low-level servoing allows clients to control each actuator individually by sending position (or
velocity) increments at 1 kHz frequency (bypassing the kinematic control library).
Figure 68: Low-level servoing

Device routing
This section describes device routing..
Figure 69 Device routing
The API allows you to communicate with the robot devices. Using a device identifier the RPC
and pub/sub methods of the API are simply routed by robot base and directly bridged to the
intended device.
Error management
This section describes the concept of error management with the robot.
When an API method is called, sometimes an error will result.
There are three main categories of errors:
• Protocol server errors
• Protocol client errors
• Device errors
The first two categories of errors include all errors relating to the the internal communication
protocol. (ex: invalid, unsupported or unknown calls, out of session call, etc.)
The other category is for errors coming from the target device.
For each high level category, there are also more detailed and specific errors.
®
For more information about the error codes that can be produced, see the KINOVA KORTEX™
GitHub documentation.

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KINOVA KORTEX™ GitHub repository
®
This section describes the KINOVA KORTEX™ GitHub repository.
®
For more detailed information about developing applications using the API visit the KINOVA
KORTEX™ GitHub repository at: github.com/kinovarobotics/kortex
The repository offers access to a number of resources for developers.
• setup instructions and release notes
• detailed API documentation by language
• code examples
® ®
KINOVA KORTEX™ ROS and KINOVA KORTEX™ ROS GitHub overview
This section describes the ROS packages for the robot (and all other products enabled by
KINOVA® KORTEX™).
Introduction
®
KINOVA KORTEX™ ROS is the official repository containing ROS packages to interact with
Kortex and related products. It consists of a number of ROS packages built on top of the client
Kortex API.
These ROS packages are designed to work with ROS Kinectic Kame. Note that ROS Kinectic
Kame is primarily targeted for Ubuntu 16.04 (Xenial) LTS (although other platforms are also
supported to different degrees).
Methods provided by the underlying API are offered as ROS services and topics,
depending on the method.
• RPC methods are exposed via ROS services
• pub/sub methods are exposed via ROS topics
The ROS Messages correspond to the message type definitions of the underlying API.
The ROS interface can be accessed using either Python (rospy) or C++ (roscpp).
Detailed documentation of the packages is available on the Kinova ros_kortex GitHub
repository at github.com/kinovarobotics/ros_kortex
The repository includes various packages related to ROS development:
• setup instruction and release notes
• kortex_actuator_driver (ROS node package for interfacing with a single actuator)
• kortex_api (package containing header files and libraries needed to use the C++ Kortex
API)
• kortex_description (package contains URDF and STL files of the robot)
• kortex_device_manager (ROS node package to allow basic communication with every
device supported by the Kortex framework)
• kortex_driver (ROS node package to allow direct communication with a robot base)
• kortex_examples (examples needed to understand the basics of ros_kortex)
• kortex_vision_config_driver (ROS node package to allow direct communication
with the robot Vision module)

Working with camera streams using GStreamer

This section describes how to work with vision module camera streams using the
GStreamer framework.
GStreamer
Kinova recommends that developers use the GStreamer framework for handling the camera's
sensor streams. GStreamer offers a pipeline-based framework that allows you to link together
plugins for image-processing workflows.
Requirements:
• GStreamer version: 1.8.3 and above
• Supported operating systems:
º Windows 7 and later
º Ubuntu 16.04 and later
Using GStreamer
GStreamer pipelines can be called from the command line using the gst-launch-1.0 utility.
For integration with applications, GStreamer offers a number of language bindings, which
include both C++ and Python.
Official documentation for the GStreamer framework, including installation instructions,
application development guidance, and tutorials can be accessed here: https://
gstreamer.freedesktop.org/documentation/
Windows command examples

This section provides examples of using GStreamer with the robot vision module camera
streams on the Windows command line.
Color stream CLI example: command to display the color stream
gst-launch-1.0.exe rtspsrc location=rtsp://192.168.1.10/color
latency=30 ! rtph264depay ! avdec_h264 ! autovideosink
Unpacking the example:
• gst-launch-1.0.exe: launch GStreamer
• rtspsrc location=rtsp://192.168.1.10/color latency=30: connect to the
RTSP server at the color stream URL with latency of 30 ms.
• rtph264depay: Extract H.264 video payload from RTP packets
• avdec_h264: decode H.264 video
• autovideosink: search computer registry for video sink (player) and plays decoded video
stream.
Depth stream CLI example: command to display the depth stream
gst-launch-1.0.exe rtspsrc location=rtsp://192.168.1.10/depth
latency=30 ! rtpgstdepay ! videoconvert ! autovideosink
• gst-launch-1.0.exe: launch GStreamer
• rtspsrc location=rtsp://192.168.1.10/depth latency=30: connect to the
• rtpgstdepay: extract GStreamer buffers from RTP packets
• videoconvert: automatically convert the video to a format understandable to the chosen
video sink in the next step
• autovideosink: search computer registry for video sink (player) and plays decoded video
stream.

Linux command examples

This section provides examples of using GStreamer with the robot vision module camera
streams on the Linux command line.
Color stream CLI example: command to display the color stream
gst-launch-1.0 rtspsrc location=rtsp://192.168.1.10/color
latency=30 ! rtph264depay ! avdec_h264 ! autovideosink
• gst-launch-1.0: launch GStreamer
• rtspsrc location=rtsp://192.168.1.10/color latency=30: connect to the
• rtph264depay: extract H.264 video payload from RTP packets
• avdec_h264: decode H.264 video
• autovideosink: search computer registry for video sink (player) and play decoded video
stream.
Depth stream CLI example: command to display the depth stream
gst-launch-1.0 rtspsrc location=rtsp://192.168.1.10/depth
latency=30 ! rtpgstdepay ! videoconvert ! autovideosink
• gst-launch-1.0: launch GStreamer
• rtspsrc location=rtsp://192.168.1.10/depth latency=30: connect to the
• rtpgstdepay: extract GStreamer buffers from RTP packets
• videoconvert: automatically convert the video to a format understandable to the chosen
video sink in the next step
• autovideosink: search computer registry for video sink (player) and play decoded video
stream.

Guidance for advanced users

This section gathers together reference information on advanced topics.
Introduction
The following contents are intended for advanced users.
7 DoF singularity configurations

This section describes the singularity configurations of the 7 DoF robot.
Singularity configurations overview
Singularities generally occur when a particular angular configuration of the robot causes
axes to be aligned, causing the robot to lose degrees of freedom and experience limitations in
movement in some directions while operating the robot in Cartesian mode. There are many
ways that this could potentially happen, and an exhaustive listing would be difficult. The
following table highlights some important singularities for the 7 DoF robot, explaining how they
occur and how the robot behavior is altered near the singularity while in Cartesian mode.
Table 37: Selected singularity configurations description
Singularity Description Robot behavior

Boundary singularity The arm is at full reach. Joint Due to singularity avoidance, it’s
4 (elbow) is at 0°. The arm not possible to bring the elbow
cannot move any farther in to 0° in Cartesian mode.
the direction it is currently
reaching out.
Joints 2 and 3 singularity Joint 2 is at 0° so joints 1 and Due to singularity avoidance, it’s
3 are perfectly aligned and not possible to bring joint 3 near
have the same effect. 90° or 270° when joint 2 is near
0° (or vice versa, to bring joint 2
Joint 3 is at 90° or at 270° so
near 0° when joint 3 is near 90°
that the axes of joint 2 and
or 270°) in Cartesian mode.
joint 4 are perpendicular.
The robot can no longer The control algorithms will try to
move purely along an axis in avoid the singularity by moving
translation. joint 2 away from 0° and joint
3 away from 90° or 270° while
moving in null space.

Singularity Description Robot behavior

Joints 2 and 6 singularity Joint 2 is at 0° so that joints Due to singularity avoidance,
1 and 3 are perfectly aligned it’s not possible to bring joint 2
and have the same effect. near 0° when joint 6 is near 0° in
Cartesian mode.
Joint 6 is at 0° so that joints
5 and 7 are perfectly aligned The control algorithms will try to
and have the same effect. The avoid the singularity by moving
hand cannot rotate in one joints 2 and 6 away from 0° while
direction anymore. moving in null space.
Joints 5 and 6 singularity Joint 6 is at 0° so that joints Due to singularity avoidance, it’s
5 and 7 are perfectly aligned not possible to bring joint 5 near
and have the same effect. 90° or 270° when joint 6 is near
0° in Cartesian mode.
Joint 5 is at 90° or at 270°
so that the axes of joint The control algorithms will try to
4 and joint 6’s axis are avoid the singularity by moving
perpendicular. The robot joint 5 away from 90° or 270°
can no longer complete pure and joint 6 away from 0° while
rotations around an axis. moving in the robot’s null space.
Reference frames and transformations
Homogeneous transforms
This section describes the homogeneous transforms for the robotic arm.
Introduction
The forward kinematics of the robotic arm are determined by homogeneous transform
matrices. These matrices represent the transformations from one frame (base, joint, or end
effector) to the next along the kinematic chain.
The overall transformation from the base frame to the end effector frame is given by:
Where:

i-1
Ti is the transform from the previous frame [i-1] to the current frame [i] where qi, the angle for
joint i, is 0.
Rz(qi) is the transformation matrix for a rotation of qi around joint i (the z axis for the joint frame
is always defined to be along the joint axis of rotation.)
i-1 *
T i is the matrix for the general transformation matrix from frame [i-1] to frame [i].
Homogeneous transform matrices - 7 DoF spherical wrist

This section is a reference for the homogeneous transform matrices for the 7 DoF
spherical wrist robot.

Figure 70: Frame definitions and dimensions (all joints at 0 position, dimensions in
mm)

Table 38: Transformation matrices
Transformation i-1
Ti
i-1 *
T i
Base to frame 1
Frame 1 to frame 2
Frame 2 to frame 3
Frame 3 to frame 4
Frame 4 to frame 5
Frame 5 to frame 6
Frame 6 to frame 7
Frame 7 to end
effector
Note: units are in meters for homogeneous transform translations in the right-hand column of
each matrix.

Standard robot frames

This section describes the standard frames of the robotic arm.
The robot has three standard frames:
• base frame (base reference frame)
• rotating frame (actuator 1 reference frame)
• tool frame (end-effector reference frame)
Figure 71: Three standard frames
Different control modes make use of different frames.
Dynamic parameters of the 7 DoF robot

This section describes the dynamic parameters of the 7 DoF robot.
Overview
The following tables describe the key dynamic parameters of the link segments of the 7 DoF
robot, including masses, centers of masses, and and moment tensors (moments of inertia). The
center of mass of a link is always expressed in the coordinates of the precedent joint frame.
The mass of a link segment includes the shell and portions of the input and output actuators (as
applicable) that are enclosed within the link and move rigidly with the link.
Overview
moments of inertia taken at the center of mass

and aligned with the output coordinate system I=

Table 39: Base
Physical quantity Value

mass (kg) 1.697353
center of mass
(0.000648, -0.000166, 0.084487)
coordinates (m)
moments of inertia
2
(kg · m )
Table 40: Link 1

mass (kg) 1.377353
center of mass
(-0.000023, -0.010364, -0.073360)
coordinates (m)
moments of inertia
2
(kg · m )

Table 41: Link 2

mass (kg) 1.163667
center of mass
(-0.000044, -0.099580, -0.013278)
coordinates (m)
moments of inertia
2
(kg · m )
Table 42: Link 3

mass (kg) 1.163667 kg
center of mass
(-0.000044, -0.006641, -0.117892)
coordinates (m)
moments of inertia
2
(kg · m )

Table 43: Link 4

mass (kg) 0.930287
center of mass
(-0.000018, -0.075478, -0.015006)
coordinates (m)
moments of inertia
2
(kg · m )
Table 44: Link 5

mass (kg) 0.678106
center of mass
(0.000001, -0.009432, -0.063883)
coordinates (m)
moments of inertia
2
(kg · m )

Table 45: Link 6

mass (kg) 0.678106
center of mass
( 0.000001, -0.045483, -0.009650)
coordinates (m)
moments of inertia
2
(kg · m )
Table 46: Interface Module

mass (kg) 0.364223
center of mass
(-0.000093, 0.000132, -0.024666)
coordinates (m)
moments of inertia
2
(kg · m )
Table 47: Interface & Vision Module

mass (kg) 0.500657
center of mass
(-0.000281, -0.011402, -0.031080)
coordinates (m)
moments of inertia
2
(kg · m )

Maintenance
This section describes maintenance tasks for the robot.
Maintenance overview
Currently, none of the components of the robot are field replaceable. Contact Kinova for
assistance in the case of any component breakdown or malfunction.
Preventive Maintenance
Some preventive maintenance tasks are helpful for protecting your robot and getting the most
out it over time:
• Cleaning contacts on base controller - keep contacts clear of dust and contamination, wiping
electrical contacts regularly with a soft moistened cloth.
• Fine adjustment of base clamp - Some adjustment may be needed for the base clamp to
ensure that the robot is firmly clamped onto the base controller. Within the clamp is an
adjustment screw which can be adjusted to tighten the clamp as needed.

To tighten the clamp turn the screw clockwise using a 2 mm hex key in small, ¼ turn
increments, testing the clamp after each increment.
Note: Overtightening the clamp can damage the clamp and base. Always make sure that the
clamp can be closed using a reasonable amount of force.
• Cleaning glass on vision module - the cameras on the vision module are covered in glass. For
best results, keep the glass clear of contamination that could block the view of the sensors.
Wipe the glass regularly with a soft moistened cloth and wipe dry with a soft dry cloth.
• Setting protection zones - volumetric protection zones should be established around
the robot to protect it from potential damage caused by collisions with known obstacles.
Protection zones can be set using the KINOVA® KORTEX™ Web App.
• Updating firmware - Kinova will periodically release updates to robot and robot device
firmware to fix known bugs and expand the capabilities of the robot. For best results, it is
recommended to regularly update firmware using the Web App.
• Updating development packages - Kinova will periodically release updates for the
KINOVA® KORTEX™ API and KINOVA® KORTEX™ ROS packages on the
Kinovarobotics/kortex and Kinovarobotics/ros_kortex GitHub repositories. These
updates will fix known bugs and expand the capabilities of the robot.

Troubleshooting
This section describes troubleshooting for the robot
Troubleshooting resources
There are several resources that can be used to help diagnose issues when they occur:
• KINOVA® KORTEX™ Web App notifications
• Web App monitoring - the monitoring page provides useful status information on the robot
components, including the base, all actuators, and the interface. Notably, currents, voltages,
CPU core temperatures and motor temperatures from the sensors are updated in real-time
on the monitoring page
• Web App safeties page - when a safety item's warning or error threshold is exceeded, the
safety item will be highlighted in the Robot Configurations Safety page.
• Base controller LED indicators - LEDs on the robot base controller connector panel provide
visual feedback on the robot status
• API errors
• GitHub - information on known issues and workarounds
General tips for troubleshooting issues with the robot
When the robot enters a fault state, the robot will become unresponsive until the fault is
cleared. The gamepad can be used to clear faults - press the left bumper once and proceed.
Open the Web App and check the monitoring page for high-level status information on various
components.
Check the Web App Notifications page for any recent notifications.
Check the Web App Safeties page to see if the robot has passed a warning or error threshold.
If any safety us triggered, the safety item will be Look up the information on the safety for
guidance on handling.
Remember that the behavior of the robot will change as the robot nears singularities or enters
the envelope of protection zones. If robot behavior deviates from what you expect, verify
whether one of these two cases applies.
For API-related errors, check the reference tables for guidance on the source of the error and
how to deal with it.
®
Kinova recommends updating robot firmware and KINOVA KORTEX™ API packages regularly
to keep up with the latest bug fixes and ensure optimal performance.
If all else fails, try rebooting the robot.
If you're still experiencing issues, contact Kinova support via the website.
Base controller LEDs

This section describes the meanings of the LED indicators on the robot base controller.
Overview
The base controller has two LEDs, one blue and one red / green.

Figure 72: Base controller LEDs
Base controller LED details
Table 48: LED interpretation
Power LED Status LED Description

color status color status
n/a off n/a off system not
powered
blue blinking n/a off system booting
blue solid amber solid system initializing
system operating
n/a off green solid
normally
system currently
blue blinking amber solid updating at least
one component
blue solid red solid system in
error state
How to respond to safety warnings and errors

This section describes how to respond to safety warnings and error states experiened
when operating the robot.
Overview
The robot has a number of warning and error thresholds set for safety purposes. These are
viewable (and in some case configurable) in the Web application. The following tables give more
guidance as to the source of the problem when a safety threshold is triggered.

Safeties handling details
Table 49: Base safeties handling
Safety Most Probable Cause
Incompatible Firmware version • Firmware issue
• Firmware issue
Firmware Update Failure
• Communication issue
• CPU heat sink issue

Maximum Ambient Temperature
• Unknown thermal issue
• CPU heat sink issue

Maximum Core Temperature
• Unknown thermal issue
Joint Fault • Joint error / warning state
Joint Detection Error • Communication issue
Network Initialization Error • Base CPU board issue
• Shorted phases on a joint

Maximum Current
• Payload exceeded
• Power supply issue

Maximum Voltage
• Electronic component failure
• Power supply issue

Minimum Voltage
• Electronic component failure
• XBox gamepad emergency stop button

clicked
Emergency Stop Activated
• Web application emergency stop button
clicked
• Joint not programmed

Emergency Line Asserted • Joint in a boot loop
• Electrical component failure
• Payload exceeded
Inrush Current Limiter Fault
• Electrical component failure
Table 50: Actuators safeties handling
Following error
• Firmware issue
Maximum velocity
• Firmware issue

• Strain gauge improperly soldered

Maximum torque
• Incorrect torque calibration
Magnetic position • Magnet improperly glued
Hall position • Hall sensor major malfunction
Hall sequence • Hall sensor major malfunction(s)
Input encoder Hall mismatch • Dirt and/or particles on encoder disk
Input encoder index mismatch • Dirt and/or particles on encoder disk
• Dirt and/or particles on encoder disk

Input encoder magnetic mismatch
• Detached magnet on magnetic encoder
• Shorted phases
Maximum motor current
• Bad motor
• Incomplete calibration(s
Non-volatile memory corrupted • No system information entered
• No torque calibration
• Shorted phases
Motor driver fault
• Hall sensor issue
Watchdog triggered • Firmware issue
Contacting Kinova support

Here's where to turn for related support and advice.
For support and advice on hardware related issues, please don't hesitate to contact us through
the support form on our website:
www.kinovarobotics.com/support.
For development guidance and software-related questions, check out the KINOVA®
KORTEX™ and KINOVA® KORTEX™ ROS GitHub repositories at:
github.com/kinovarobotics/kortex
github.com/kinovarobotics/ros_kortex

There is no need too small.
No task too great.
kinovarobotics.com
Kinova inc. (Headquarters)

4333, Boulevard de la Grande-Allée
Boisbriand (QC) J7H 1M7
Canada
+1 (514) 277-3777
Kinova Europe GmbH

Friedrich-Ebert-Allee 13
53113 Bonn, Deutschland
+49 (0) 228-9293-9148
UG-014_2018-12-R01
Kinova Asia
4th Floor, Building 5, Zizhu Cyberport
No. 555 Dongchuan Road, Minhang District
200241 Shanghai P.R.China
+86 1862 1111 822

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User Guide

About this document...................................................................................................................................................... 7

Acronyms and abbreviations.......................................................................................................................................8

Safety directives and warnings................................................................................................................................ 12

Normal use definition................................................................................................................................................... 16

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Interface module expansion - tips for installing tools.................................................................................... 57

Robot communications and network interfaces................................................................................................66

Accessing Vision module color and depth streams......................................................................................... 68

Concepts and terminology.........................................................................................................................................69

Control modes overview.............................................................................................................................................78

Configurations and safeties...................................................................................................................................... 80

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KINOVA® KORTEX™ Developer Guide.................................................................................................................. 122

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About this document

Read all warnings on the product and in this guide.

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Acronyms and abbreviations

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Safety directives and warnings

- risk assessment, before integration of the robot into a given

- use the robot near a flame or source of heat.

- use the robot to submerge objects in water.

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Do not attempt to open the Vision module.

Do not connect the USB ports on the base to one another.

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Normal use definition

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What's in the case?

Figure 1: shipping case contents

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The shipping case contains the following contents.

Manipulating the robot joints when the robot is powered off

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Robot mounting options

Mounting the robot on a tabletop

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Mounting the robot on a horizontal surface without the table clamp

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Controller mounting plate bolting pattern

Figure 2: Mounting plate bolting pattern

Base controller underside bolting pattern

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Figure 3: Base and mounting holes

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Figure 4: Base mounting holes pattern

Robot power adapter and E-stop

Powering on the robot

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To power up the robot: