Roboflow + Robot controllers
Send pick, sort and reject signals to Universal Robots and FANUC controllers over Modbus TCP, and read their status back into a Workflow.
How to connect Robot controllers to Roboflow
6 stepsSet up an edge device
Register a device in Deployment Manager and connect it to the same network as the robot controller, with port 502 reachable. The device runs your Workflows on site.
Enable the robot's Modbus TCP server
On a Universal Robots controller the Modbus TCP server is already running. On a FANUC controller, install the Modbus TCP software option and enable the server.
Pick the registers to use
From the robot's Modbus register map, choose general-purpose registers for the values the Workflow will write, such as a class code, and the ones it will read, such as a ready bit.
Add the PLC Relay and define tags
On the edge device's Configuration tab, add the PLC Relay service, choose Modbus TCP and enter the robot controller's IP address. Add each register as a tag by its address from the robot's register map, such as holding:100, and mark the ones the Workflow may write.
Add PLC blocks to the Workflow
Add a PLC Reader to bring robot status in and one PLC Writer for each value you send, pointed at the relay. To skip the relay, set Connection mode to Direct (Modbus TCP) and enter the controller's IP address and port.
Use the values in the robot program
In the robot program, read the register and branch on its value, for example a switch on the class code that picks the right bin.
What teams build with Robot controllers
Sort parts by class
Write a class code for each part so the robot program places it in the right bin or lane.
Remove a defective part
Write a reject value when the Workflow finds a defect, and let the robot program pick the part off the line.
Wait for the robot to be ready
Read a ready register before the next inspection, so the Workflow only sends a result when the robot can act on it.
Works with
| Product | How Roboflow connects |
|---|---|
| Universal Robots | Built-in Modbus TCP server |
| FANUC | Modbus TCP software option |
Questions
Any robot controller that acts as a Modbus TCP server. Universal Robots controllers have one built in, and FANUC controllers need the Modbus TCP software option. For other brands, check the controller's documentation for Modbus TCP server support.
No. Roboflow writes values to the robot's registers, and the robot program decides how the robot moves in response.
The direct EtherNet/IP mode of the PLC blocks reads and writes Allen-Bradley Logix tags. For robot controllers, use Modbus TCP.
No. The PLC blocks run on your own device on the plant network, close to the camera and the robot, not on Roboflow's hosted API.
The PLC blocks and PLC Relay are part of the Enterprise plan. Talk to our team to add them to your workspace.
Why are companies choosing Roboflow?
The end-to-end platform for vision AI: create datasets, train models and deploy to production.
Flexible deployment modes
Move from a scalable cloud API to edge hardware like NVIDIA Jetson without managing complex dependencies.
Integrated workflow builder
Combine multiple AI models, custom business logic and third-party integrations into one production-ready pipeline in a low-code editor.
Model monitoring and alerts
Dashboards track confidence, inference time and request volume for your deployed models, and email alerts tell your team when confidence suddenly drops.
