Barrett Technology, Inc. today announced the release of Libbarrett. Libbarett is a real-time controls library written in C++ that runs Barrett’s products, including the WAM(TM) Arm and the BH8-280 BarrettHand(TM). The library is free software; it can be distributed and/or modified. As an open source library, it allows scientists, researchers, and programmers around the world to adapt Libbarrett for specialized applications, such as highly dynamic motion of the Barrett WAM. Barrett engineers spent three years developing the library internally, with the goal of designing a convenient, easy-to-use interface that will help researchers delve into robot control at all levels. At the simplest level, users can teach the robot a trajectory by physically moving the WAM and playing back that trajectory as many times as they like. The controls library is also designed to support the most advanced situations in which users can send specific torque commands to individual motors. Libbarre also provides a ROS (Robot Operating System) wrapper that enables users to engage with the growing ROS community while using their Barrett hardware. Bill Townsend, the company’s founder and CEO, states, “The new Libbarrett’s robust API will allow current and future Barrett customers to use our products in ways never before possible. We welcome this new era of productivity and look forward to seeing and sharing our users’ achievements.”
About Barrett Technology, Inc.
Barrett Technology, Inc. is the technology leader in the design and manufacture
of high-performance robotic manipulators for emerging applications requiring superior versatility.