When programming, interacting with the operator can be useful and safer especially in a collaborative environment.
Just think about when the jigs are empty with no more parts available or when the operator needs to complete his task before the robot continues.

Universal Robots gives a really simple way to integrate popups to any program.

Here is a video demonstrating how to proceed:

If you do not want the robot to stop and wait for the pop-up to be acknowledged, its just a simple notification, you can set the pop-up to occur inside of a thread.  This will place the pop-up on the screen but does not block robot execution.  We use this when there is a message we want the operator to see but its not critical to the operation of the machine so we do not stop the actual execution.

Lets say we have 5 different messages we want to display on the teach pendant, but we want a PLC to be the one controlling when each one is displayed. What is the best way to do this?

Also, is there a way to have a button that is displayed on the run screen at all times and whenever an operator either has a question or needs help they can push that button which would tell the PLC to turn on a signal light?

@abeachy_HG24
That's a good question! Let me loop in some pros: @Nicolas_Lauzier, @Grady_Turner, @matthewd92
From your experiences, how would you do this?

@Nicolas_Lauzier to monitor the status of those inputs, can that be placed in a thread?

@abeachy_HG24 Yes, put them in a thread if you're planning on using the inputs to trigger a popup message without stopping the program. In addition, you can assign variables (in a thread) to equal the digital inputs and monitor their boolean values.

@abeachy_HG24 @Catherine_Bernier @matthewd92

Several applications we have been involved in have made use of the UR Dashboard server.  The above comments on digital and/or modbus I/O are all valid and will accomplish the task. But if there is a PLC in the system usually it is desired that as much control and "brains" lie in that one place.  This helps cut down on troubleshooting and is better organized.

Most PLCs and HMIs have the ability to open TCP/IP socket connections and can send custom strings as part of the program.  With the UR Dashboard server you can enumerate and clear popups.  You can also control the robot entirely.  This may be something worth exploring if you want to keep your robot programs simple and focused.

read_input_boolean_register(address) or write_output_boolean_register(address, value) ?
Can I use this command with script in Profinet?


I can send from the robot to PLC register bit, but I can not get from PLC to Robot, where is my mistake, Did you communicate with Robor and S7-1200 via Profinet?