UnderAutomation.ABB 1.0.2

ABB Robot Communication SDK for .NET

UnderAutomation.ABB is a fully managed .NET SDK that talks to ABB industrial robot controllers over Robot Web Services (RWS). It works the same way on IRC5 (RobotWare 6) and on OmniCore (RobotWare 7). Nothing is installed on the controller. No RobotStudio, no PC SDK, no ABB runtime.

Use it to read and write RAPID variables, control I/O, read positions, jog the robot, manage programs, files and backups, and follow the state of the controller, from a normal .NET application.

• 📖 More information: underautomation.com/abb
• 📚 Documentation: underautomation.com/abb/documentation
• 📦 Also available for 🐍 Python

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What you can do

• 🧾 RAPID variables and programs: read and write variables, persistents and constants, including robtarget and record types. Start and stop tasks, move the program pointer, load and save modules, search the symbols of the loaded program.
• ⚡ Inputs / Outputs: list, read and write digital, analog and group signals. Pulse, invert or simulate a signal. Browse and configure I/O devices and networks.
• 📐 Position and kinematics: read the current robtarget and jointtarget, convert between Cartesian pose and joint values, jog the robot, set a position target.
• 🎛️ Controller and state: read the identity and the options, follow the operation mode, the controller state and the speed ratio, set the clock, the language and the network.
• 💾 Backup and restore: create a full backup, check it, and restore it.
• 📂 File system: browse the controller file system, download and upload files, create, copy, rename and delete files and directories.
• 📜 Event log: read the event log by domain, in the language you ask, and clear it.
• 🔋 System and energy: read the system product list, the options and the energy counters.
• 🔑 Mastership: request and release the edit and motion mastership, explicitly or implicitly.
• 🔍 Discovery: find the ABB controllers of the local network, and the virtual controllers running on this machine, without a license and without a known address.
• 🔁 One API for both controller generations: the same code runs on IRC5 (RWS 1.0) and on OmniCore (RWS 2.0). Only one connection parameter changes.
• ⏱️ Sync and async: every service method has a synchronous version and, from .NET Framework 4.5 on, an ...Async version that takes a CancellationToken.

No ABB option is required on the controller. Robot Web Services is part of a standard system.

Example application

A Windows Forms application shows every feature of the SDK, with the source code included in this repository under UnderAutomation.ABB.Showcase.Forms.

📥 Download: UnderAutomation.Abb.Showcase.Forms.exe · All releases

Controller, backup and state

RAPID variables and programs

Inputs / Outputs

Position and kinematics

Installation

dotnet add package UnderAutomation.ABB

Or with the NuGet Package Manager console:

Install-Package UnderAutomation.ABB

You can also download the DLL from the releases page and reference it by hand.

Getting started

1. Connect

using UnderAutomation.ABB;

// The SDK runs in trial mode for 30 days. Register your key to remove the trial limit.
AbbController.RegisterLicense("Your Company", "your-license-key");

var robot = new AbbController();
robot.Connect("192.168.125.1");

var identity = robot.Rws.Controller.GetIdentity();
Console.WriteLine(identity.Name);

robot.Disconnect();

2. Choose the controller generation

The default is OmniCore (RWS 2.0). For an IRC5 controller, set the version to RwsVersion.Irc5_V1_0. The rest of your code does not change.

var parameters = new ConnectionParameters("192.168.125.1");
parameters.Rws.Username = "Default User";
parameters.Rws.Password = "robotics";
parameters.Rws.UseHttps = true;                    // OmniCore is reached over HTTPS
parameters.Rws.Version  = RwsVersion.OmniCore_V2_0; // or RwsVersion.Irc5_V1_0 for IRC5

var robot = new AbbController();
robot.Connect(parameters);

Features

Everything is reached through robot.Rws, grouped by service: Controller, Io, Rapid, MotionSystem, Panel, System, File, Elog, Mastership.

🧾 RAPID variables and programs

// Read a RAPID symbol, the value comes back the way RAPID writes it
var reg1 = robot.Rws.Rapid.GetSymbolValue("RAPID/T_ROB1/user/reg1");
Console.WriteLine(reg1.Value);

// Write a symbol (needs the edit mastership in automatic mode)
robot.Rws.Mastership.Request(MastershipDomain.Edit);
robot.Rws.Rapid.SetSymbolValue("RAPID/T_ROB1/user/reg1", "42");
robot.Rws.Mastership.Release();

// Start and stop the program
robot.Rws.Rapid.Start();
robot.Rws.Rapid.Stop();

// Load a module, list tasks, follow the execution state
robot.Rws.Rapid.LoadModule("T_ROB1", "HOME:/mymodule.mod", replace: true);
var tasks = robot.Rws.Rapid.GetTasks();
var state = robot.Rws.Rapid.GetExecutionState();

⚡ Inputs / Outputs

// List every signal
IoSignalItem[] signals = robot.Rws.Io.GetSignals();

// Read one signal
IoSignalItem di1 = robot.Rws.Io.GetSignal("EtherNetIP", "d652", "DI_01");
Console.WriteLine(di1.LogicalValue);

// Write, pulse or invert an output
robot.Rws.Io.SetSignalValue("EtherNetIP", "d652", "DO_01", 1);
robot.Rws.Io.PulseSignal("EtherNetIP", "d652", "DO_01", 1, pulses: 3);
robot.Rws.Io.InvertSignal("EtherNetIP", "d652", "DO_01", 1);

// Simulate a signal so a value can be forced without hardware
robot.Rws.Io.SetSignalState("EtherNetIP", "d652", "DI_01", simulated: true);

📐 Position and kinematics

// Current Cartesian and joint position of a mechanical unit
RobTarget robTarget = robot.Rws.MotionSystem.GetRobTarget("ROB_1");
JointTarget jointTarget = robot.Rws.MotionSystem.GetJointTarget("ROB_1");

Console.WriteLine($"X={robTarget.X} Y={robTarget.Y} Z={robTarget.Z}");
Console.WriteLine($"J1={jointTarget.RobotAxes.Axis1} J2={jointTarget.RobotAxes.Axis2}");

// Convert a Cartesian pose to joint values
JointTarget joints = robot.Rws.MotionSystem.GetJointsFromCartesian("ROB_1", pose, externalAxes);

// Jog the robot
robot.Rws.MotionSystem.SetJoggingMechanicalUnit("ROB_1");
robot.Rws.MotionSystem.Jog(new RobotJoints { Axis1 = 5 }, changeCount: 0);

🔍 Discover controllers

// Finds the controllers of the local network and the virtual controllers of this machine.
// No connection is opened and no license is needed.
DiscoveredController[] found = AbbController.Discover();

foreach (var controller in found)
    Console.WriteLine($"{controller.SystemName} at {controller.Address}:{controller.Port}");

// ToConnectionParameters carries the address, the port, the scheme and the RWS version found
var robot = new AbbController();
robot.Connect(found[0].ToConnectionParameters());

🎛️ Controller and state

ControllerIdentity id = robot.Rws.Controller.GetIdentity();
ControllerInfo info = robot.Rws.Controller.GetInfo();

OperationMode mode = robot.Rws.Panel.GetOperationMode();
ControllerState state = robot.Rws.Panel.GetControllerState();
int speedRatio = robot.Rws.Panel.GetSpeedRatio();

robot.Rws.Panel.SetSpeedRatio(50);
robot.Rws.Controller.SetClock(DateTime.Now);

bool hasOption = robot.Rws.Controller.HasOption("RobotWare-OS");

💾 Backup and restore

robot.Rws.Controller.CreateBackup("HOME:/backups/2026-01-15");

CheckRestoreResult check = robot.Rws.Controller.CheckRestore("HOME:/backups/2026-01-15");
if (check.IsAccepted)
    robot.Rws.Controller.RestoreBackup("HOME:/backups/2026-01-15");

📂 File system

DirectoryListing listing = robot.Rws.File.ListDirectory("HOME:/");
foreach (var dir in listing.Directories)
    Console.WriteLine(dir.Name);
foreach (var file in listing.Files)
    Console.WriteLine($"{file.Name} ({file.Size} bytes)");

robot.Rws.File.UploadFileFromPath("HOME:/mymodule.mod", @"C:\rapid\mymodule.mod");
robot.Rws.File.GetFileToDestination("HOME:/mymodule.mod", @"C:\backup\mymodule.mod");
string text = robot.Rws.File.GetFileAsText("HOME:/mymodule.mod");
robot.Rws.File.DeleteFile("HOME:/old.mod");

📜 Event log

ElogMessage[] messages = robot.Rws.Elog.GetMessages(domain: 0, language: "en");
foreach (var m in messages)
    Console.WriteLine($"{m.Timestamp} {m.Title}");

robot.Rws.Elog.ClearAllMessages();

⏱️ Asynchronous methods

Every method has an async version on .NET Framework 4.5 and later.

var identity = await robot.Rws.Controller.GetIdentityAsync(cancellationToken);
await robot.Rws.Io.SetSignalValueAsync("EtherNetIP", "d652", "DO_01", 1, cancellationToken);

IRC5 and OmniCore, one API

ABB robots expose Robot Web Services in two versions. This SDK covers both. The same code runs on an old IRC5 and on a new OmniCore. Only the connection parameters change.

HTTP or HTTPS is a separate setting (UseHttps), independent of the controller generation.

Compatibility

• Operating systems: Windows, Linux, macOS
• No native dependency, no external NuGet package
• Supported controllers: IRC5, OmniCore, and their virtual controllers in RobotStudio

License

This SDK requires a commercial license. A 30-day free trial is available, no key needed.

• 🔑 Trial and licensing: underautomation.com/abb/eula
• 🛒 Request a quote and order: underautomation.com/abb

See License.md for the full terms.

Support

• 📚 Documentation: underautomation.com/abb/documentation
• 🐛 Issues: GitHub Issues
• 📩 Contact: underautomation.com/contact