What is the Software Development Kit (SDK)?

The Reach Robotics SDK provides support for custom control of Reach Robotics products.

It includes support for Python, C and C++ for all products, and limited ROS and ROS2 node support for Alpha 5, Bravo 5 and Bravo 7 manipulators.

Note: ROS Noetic is reaching End Of Life (EOL) in 2025, and will no longer be supported in the SDK.

Full access to the SDK is reserved for customers who have purchased a PRO manipulator package or a Custom Control Interface for their standard manipulator. If you are interested in getting access to the SDK, please contact our Sales Team.

What does the SDK include?

The SDK is made up of two parts: the GitHub repository, and the critical files available for download after access has been purchased.

The critical files must be downloaded correctly to allow the SDK to function. Follow the Getting Started instructions in our SDK documentation to install the SDK components on your PC.

The SDK documentation and GitHub repository contain multiple examples in Python, C/C++, ROS and ROS2 for common tasks.

How much support is offered?

The SDK is intended as a resource for users of Reach Robotics products that want to build their own custom control protocols. Use of the SDK assumes a certain amount of prior knowledge when it comes to custom control, and customer implementations vary wildly, so support must be somewhat limited. For example, while the SDK provides the means to communicate with a Reach manipulator, any control options are the user's responsibility to develop.

Reach Robotics provides the following support options for the SDK:

  • Python/C/C++ - 1 free hour of engineering support included if a support package is purchased
  • ROS2 Foxy - paid-for support only for Alpha 5, Bravo 5 and Bravo 7, price dependent upon scope of request

The SDK is presented as-is and may not be updated regularly. We encourage users to let us know if they find any bugs in supported code by getting in touch with Support.