aid: universal-robots name: Universal Robots description: >- Universal Robots is a Danish collaborative-robot (cobot) manufacturer headquartered in Odense, Denmark, founded in 2005 by Esben Østergaard, Kasper Støy, and Kristian Kassow, and acquired by Teradyne in 2015 for USD 285 million. Universal Robots is the market leader in cobots, with more than 100,000 units sold worldwide and a 40–50% share of the global collaborative-robot market. The company ships two product generations — the e-Series (UR3e, UR7e, UR12e, UR16e) and the newer high-payload UR series (UR8 Long, UR15, UR18, UR20, UR30) — running the PolyScope 5 teach-pendant software stack and the next-generation PolyScope X platform. Universal Robots is unusual among industrial-robot vendors in publishing an extensive open developer surface: the C++ Universal_Robots_Client_Library, the Universal_Robots_ROS_Driver and Universal_Robots_ROS2_Driver, the RTDE Python Client Library, the Universal_Robots_Isaac_Driver for NVIDIA Isaac, the URCap SDK (PolyScope 5 Java) and PolyScopeX URCap SDK (TypeScript/HTML), and the URScript language. The wire-level protocols — Real-Time Data Exchange (RTDE), Dashboard Server, Primary/Secondary Client Interface, Reverse/Trajectory interfaces, XML-RPC, and the Tool Communication forwarder — are all documented and externally addressable over TCP, making UR cobots first-class citizens in third-party automation stacks, ROS/ROS 2, MoveIt, Isaac Sim, and the UR+ ecosystem (500+ certified end-effectors, vision systems, and URCap software extensions on universal-robots.com/plus). Universal Robots does not publish a public HTTP/REST API or OpenAPI specification — all programmatic access is via the documented socket protocols and SDKs. type: Index position: Provider access: 3rd-Party image: https://kinlane-productions.s3.amazonaws.com/apis-json/apis-json-logo.jpg tags: - Robotics - Collaborative Robots - Cobots - Industrial Automation - Manufacturing - PolyScope - PolyScopeX - URCaps - URScript - RTDE - ROS - ROS 2 - Teradyne - Danish - Hardware url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/universal-robots/refs/heads/main/apis.yml created: '2026-05-25' modified: '2026-05-25' specificationVersion: '0.20' apis: - aid: universal-robots:rtde name: Universal Robots Real-Time Data Exchange (RTDE) description: >- Real-Time Data Exchange is Universal Robots' synchronous binary TCP protocol on port 30004 that lets external applications stream robot state at the controller's 500 Hz cycle (e-Series) or 125 Hz cycle (CB3) and write inputs back into the controller. RTDE is the canonical integration point for vision-guided motion, force/torque processing, OEE telemetry, and ROS/ROS 2 drivers. Universal Robots publishes a C++ Client Library and a Python Client Library plus a ROS 2 RTDE publisher node. humanURL: https://docs.universal-robots.com/Universal_Robots_ROS_Documentation/doc/ur_client_library/doc/architecture/rtde.html tags: - RTDE - Real-Time - Telemetry - TCP - Binary Protocol properties: - type: Documentation url: https://docs.universal-robots.com/ - type: Documentation url: https://www.universal-robots.com/articles/ur/interface-communication/real-time-data-exchange-rtde-guide/ - type: SDK url: https://github.com/UniversalRobots/RTDE_Python_Client_Library - type: SDK url: https://github.com/UniversalRobots/Universal_Robots_Client_Library - type: SDK url: https://github.com/UniversalRobots/RTDE_ROS2_Publisher - aid: universal-robots:dashboard-server name: Universal Robots Dashboard Server description: >- Plain-text TCP command interface on port 29999 used to power on/off the robot, load and play programs, query safety state, and manage installations. Dashboard Server is the easiest remote-control entry point for shop-floor MES integration and is wrapped by both the C++ Universal_Robots_Client_Library and the ROS / ROS 2 drivers. humanURL: https://www.universal-robots.com/articles/ur/dashboard-server-cb-series-port-29999/ tags: - Dashboard - Remote Control - TCP - Text Protocol properties: - type: Documentation url: https://www.universal-robots.com/articles/ur/dashboard-server-cb-series-port-29999/ - type: Documentation url: https://www.universal-robots.com/articles/ur/dashboard-server-e-series-port-29999/ - type: SDK url: https://github.com/UniversalRobots/Universal_Robots_Client_Library - aid: universal-robots:primary-secondary-client-interface name: Universal Robots Primary and Secondary Client Interface description: >- Streaming binary interface on ports 30001 (Primary, 10 Hz) and 30002 (Secondary, 10 Hz) that emits robot state and configuration messages and accepts URScript programs and commands. The Primary interface adds configuration packets; the Secondary interface is the recommended channel for sending URScript at runtime. humanURL: https://www.universal-robots.com/articles/ur/interface-communication/remote-control-via-tcpip/ tags: - Primary Interface - Secondary Interface - URScript - TCP - Binary Protocol properties: - type: Documentation url: https://www.universal-robots.com/articles/ur/interface-communication/remote-control-via-tcpip/ - type: Documentation url: https://www.universal-robots.com/articles/ur/interface-communication/overview-of-client-interfaces/ - type: SDK url: https://github.com/UniversalRobots/Universal_Robots_Client_Library - aid: universal-robots:realtime-interface name: Universal Robots Real-Time Interface description: >- Binary state interface on port 30003 emitting robot state at the 125 Hz / 500 Hz controller cycle. Predates RTDE and is still supported for low-latency one-way state streaming; new integrations should prefer RTDE. humanURL: https://www.universal-robots.com/articles/ur/interface-communication/remote-control-via-tcpip/ tags: - Real-Time - Telemetry - TCP - Binary Protocol properties: - type: Documentation url: https://www.universal-robots.com/articles/ur/interface-communication/remote-control-via-tcpip/ - aid: universal-robots:xml-rpc name: Universal Robots XML-RPC description: >- URScript exposes the `xmlrpc_factory` primitive, letting a URScript program call out to any user-hosted XML-RPC server during program execution. This is the canonical way to delegate vision-system decisions, business logic, or database lookups from a robot program to an off-board service. humanURL: https://www.universal-robots.com/articles/ur/interface-communication/xml-rpc-tutorial/ tags: - XML-RPC - URScript - Integration properties: - type: Documentation url: https://www.universal-robots.com/articles/ur/interface-communication/xml-rpc-tutorial/ - aid: universal-robots:urscript name: URScript description: >- URScript is Universal Robots' purpose-built scripting language for cobot motion, I/O, and process control. URScript programs can be authored in PolyScope, streamed over the Secondary Client Interface, or generated by external tooling such as MoveIt or the Universal_Robots_ROS2_Driver. humanURL: https://www.universal-robots.com/products/ur-developer-suite/urscript/ tags: - URScript - DSL - Motion Control - Scripting properties: - type: Documentation url: https://www.universal-robots.com/products/ur-developer-suite/urscript/ - type: Documentation url: https://www.universal-robots.com/articles/ur/programming/ - type: SDK url: https://github.com/UniversalRobots/URScript_Examples - aid: universal-robots:urcap-sdk name: URCap SDK (PolyScope 5) description: >- The URCap SDK is the Java-based extension framework for PolyScope 5 that powers Universal Robots' UR+ ecosystem. URCaps add program nodes, installation screens, daemons, and driver contributions (grippers, screwdrivers, vision) to the cobot, and are the primary way third parties package integrations for sale through UR+. humanURL: https://www.universal-robots.com/products/ur-developer-suite/urcap/ tags: - URCap - SDK - Java - PolyScope - UR+ properties: - type: Documentation url: https://www.universal-robots.com/products/ur-developer-suite/urcap/ - type: SDK url: https://github.com/UniversalRobots/URCap-Samples - type: Marketplace url: https://www.universal-robots.com/plus/ - aid: universal-robots:polyscopex-urcap-sdk name: PolyScope X URCap SDK description: >- The PolyScope X URCap SDK is the TypeScript/HTML extension framework for Universal Robots' next-generation PolyScope X teach-pendant operating system that ships on UR15/UR20/UR30 and newer cobots. PolyScope X URCaps replace the legacy Java URCap model and are containerised (Docker-based) for sandboxing. humanURL: https://docs.universal-robots.com/polyscopex/ tags: - URCap - PolyScopeX - SDK - TypeScript - Docker - UR+ properties: - type: Documentation url: https://docs.universal-robots.com/polyscopex/ - type: SDK url: https://github.com/UniversalRobots/PolyScopeX_URCap_SDK common: - type: Website url: https://www.universal-robots.com/ - type: DeveloperSuite url: https://www.universal-robots.com/products/ur-developer-suite/ - type: Documentation url: https://docs.universal-robots.com/ - type: GitHub url: https://github.com/UniversalRobots - type: Forum url: https://forum.universal-robots.com/ - type: Marketplace url: https://www.universal-robots.com/plus/ - type: Academy url: https://academy.universal-robots.com/ - type: PartnerPortal url: https://partners.universal-robots.com/ - type: Support url: https://www.universal-robots.com/support/ - type: Downloads url: https://www.universal-robots.com/download/ - type: Products url: https://www.universal-robots.com/products/ - type: About url: https://www.universal-robots.com/about-universal-robots/ - type: Newsroom url: https://www.universal-robots.com/news-centre/ - type: Careers url: https://www.universal-robots.com/careers/ - type: Contact url: https://www.universal-robots.com/contact/ - type: Parent url: https://www.teradyne.com/ - type: Sibling url: https://www.mobile-industrial-robots.com/ - type: LinkedIn url: https://www.linkedin.com/company/universal-robots/ - type: YouTube url: https://www.youtube.com/user/UniversalRobots - type: Twitter url: https://twitter.com/universal_robot maintainers: - FN: Kin Lane email: kin@apievangelist.com