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RobFlow 8.0

· 3 min read
RobCo Team
Product

Highlights​

RobFlow V8 now runs on ROS 2, the industry-standard robotics middleware — a new foundation that lets us ship features faster and integrate more easily. On top of it, V8 adds two features for more precision and easier factory integration:

  • Built on ROS 2: New features faster, more reliable performance, and easier integration with the wider robotics ecosystem.
  • RobCalib — Vision-Based Calibration (Beta): In combination with Workspace referencing, this improves absolute accuracy to ~1 mm on a 300×300 mm grid, with a guided calibration you can run yourself.
  • OPC UA Server (Beta): Connect Robot cells to MES and factory IT over the industry-standard OPC UA protocol — no custom integration, secure by default.

Features & changes​

Built on ROS 2​

RobFlow's core now runs on ROS 2, the industry standard for robotics. Your Flows and workflows work exactly as before, but the platform beneath them is now aligned with the wider industry — meaning new features faster, a more reliable and future-proof base, and easier integration with the growing world of ROS 2 tools and partners.

RobCalib — Vision-Based Robot Calibration (Beta)​

RobCalib improves your Robot's accuracy so its movements precisely match their intended positions — essential wherever positions are calculated rather than taught by hand, such as palletizing, vision picking, and precision insertion. Combined with Workspace referencing, a calibrated Robot reaches ~1 mm mean error on a 300×300 mm grid.

  • Run it yourself: A guided four-step wizard walks you through the whole process — no technician needed.
  • Live feedback: Joint-coverage and accuracy metrics update in real time, so you know the result is good before you apply it.
  • One-click recurring calibration: Trigger it from a single button in the HMI for cells that recalibrate regularly.
  • Import, export & restore: Move calibrations between control units, back them up, or roll back at any time.

OPC UA Server (Beta)​

The new OPC UA Server connects your Robot cells to MES and factory IT systems over OPC UA, the industry-standard protocol. Built on the official OPC Foundation specifications, any compliant MES or SCADA system can read Robot data without custom integration.

  • Standards-based: Compliant with OPC 40001-1 (Machinery) and OPC 40010-1 (Robotics), so your MES sees machine states and a standardized Robot model it already understands.
  • Live Robot data: Real-time state, safety status, axis positions, and speed override from the controller.
  • Automatic axis detection: The axis count is detected automatically at startup, keeping up with our modular Robots.
  • Secure by default: All connections are encrypted, signed, and certificate-authenticated — no anonymous access.

Setting it up

Connecting your MES or SCADA system takes two steps:

  1. Point your client at the server. Connect over opc.tcp on port 4840, using security policy Basic256Sha256 and security mode SignAndEncrypt. The server generates its own certificate automatically on first start.
  2. Add your client's certificate to the trust list. Upload your client's certificate (.der) in RobFlow. The server picks it up within ~200 ms — no restart and no interruption to systems already connected — and your client can then discover and read the Robot data. To revoke access later, simply remove the certificate in RobFlow.

Only clients whose certificate is in the trust list can connect, so access stays fully under your control.