Franka Research 3 (FR3) Hardware Setup Guide

This guide covers how to use MoveIt Pro with actual Franka Research 3 (FR3) robot arm hardware, including physical installation.

Required Hardware

Before beginning, ensure you have the following components and tools ready:

• FR3 Arm – 7-DoF robotic arm.
• FR3 Control Box – The main control and power unit for the arm. This will be mounted or placed near the arm's base and provides power and network interfaces.
• FR3 Connecting Cable – The multi-pin cable that connects the arm to the control box.
• Emergency Stop Device – The standard emergency stop button that came with FR3, with its attached cable.
• Franka Hand – The default end-effector.
• PC or Laptop – A computer to control the robot.
• Ethernet Cable – To connect the FR3 control box or arm to your PC (or network switch).
• Power Supply – A mains power source (100–240 V) for the control box.
• Mounting Hardware for Arm Base – Four bolts to secure the arm's base to your table or mounting platform. Refer to the drilling template in the manual for exact positions.

1. Hardware Setup

Refer to the FR3 Product Manual for full instructions for unboxing, wiring, installation, and end effector setup.

In this guide we assume you are using the Franka Hand and not a third party end effector.

2. Power On and Initializing the Robot

With everything wired and setup, it's time to power on the arm and perform the initialization.

1. Turn on the Control Box: Locate the power switch on the control box and flip it to the ON position. You should see indicator LEDs light up on the control box. The system will boot its internal computer – give it a minute or so to start up.

2. Release Arm Brakes via Franka Desk: The arm uses a web-based interface called Desk for user control and configuration. Using a web browser on your connected PC, navigate to the robot's address. When you connect, you'll reach the Franka Web Interface. Log in with the default credentials. See the robot's manual for more information.

Once in Desk, there should be an option like "Unlock" or "Open" the brakes. Desk will then release the arm's motor brakes, allowing the robot to be moved.

3. Switch to Execution Mode: To control the robot from an external application (like a ROS driver or your own code via FCI), you need to put the robot in Execution mode. In the Desk UI, look for the mode selector and choose Execution.

4. Activate FCI: The arm provides the Franka Control Interface (FCI) – a real-time interface for external control. The FCI is not automatically enabled on boot for safety reasons. To activate it, go to the Desk UI's system menu and click Activate FCI. This will allow your PC to send real-time commands to the robot.

At this point, the hardware is powered and initialized.

3. Connect to MoveIt Pro

For the best hardware performance, we recommend setting up the control computer to run Debian Bookworm. We use this OS to take advantage of the real-time kernel for commanding the robot hardware.

note

The following process differs slightly from what is described in our software installation guide. For the Franka configuration, we need to remove two COLCON_IGNORE files and recompile the example workspace.

To use MoveIt Pro, you must install Docker. If you don't have Docker installed, you can install it by downloading and running a convenience script.

curl -fsSL https://get.docker.com -o get-docker.sh
sudo sh get-docker.sh

To operate Docker as a non-root user, type the following commands. Then, log out and log back in so that your group membership is re-evaluated.

sudo groupadd docker
sudo usermod -aG docker $USER

To install MoveIt Pro, run the commands:

sudo apt install curl
curl -Lo /tmp/moveit-pro-8.8.1-any.deb https://github.com/PickNikRobotics/moveit_pro_deb/raw/main/picknik/moveit-pro-8.8.1-any.deb
sudo apt install /tmp/moveit-pro-8.8.1-any.deb

To download the example workspace and run Moveit Pro, type the following command. You may be prompted to enter your license during setup.

moveit_pro run

When asked to select a configuration package, type kitchen_sim for a single arm configuration or dual_arm_sim for a dual arm configuration. Type kitchen_sim.

Please enter your desired MoveIt Pro robot config package (Recommended:: lab_sim): kitchen_sim  

This will run a simulation of the Franka arm.

To run on real hardware, you must first remove the following files, for the hardware options to appear in the previous list.

~/moveit_pro/moveit_pro_example_ws/src/moveit_pro_franka_configs/franka_arm_hw/MOVEIT_PRO_IGNORE
~/moveit_pro/moveit_pro_example_ws/src/moveit_pro_franka_configs/franka_dual_arm_hw/MOVEIT_PRO_IGNORE

Then, you must update the hardware configuration files and set the IP address of one or two arms, depending on the chosen configuration.

gedit ~/moveit_pro/moveit_pro_example_ws/src/moveit_pro_franka_configs/franka_arm_hw/config/config.yaml
gedit ~/moveit_pro/moveit_pro_example_ws/src/moveit_pro_franka_configs/franka_dual_arm_hw/config/config.yaml

note

According to the FR3 Product Manual, the robot's default network configuration uses the IP address range 192.168.0.0/24. The robot itself can be reached at IP address 192.168.0.1. The robot's built-in DHCP server automatically assigns IP addresses in the range 192.168.0.100 to 192.168.0.150 to connected clients.

Your PC will automatically receive an IP address once the control box is powered on. You can access the robot and update its settings (including its IP) through the web interface at https://robot.franka.de.

For connection with MoveIt Pro, make sure to use the network interface at the FR3 Control box and not the Arm interface

Finally, you can run MoveIt Pro on Franka hardware with the following command:

moveit_pro run -c franka_arm_hw

4. Run a Demo Application

The Franka package kitchen_sim comes with a sample Objective called Writing Demo, which writes text in front of the robot, following a predefined trajectory loaded from a YAML file.

5. Dual-Arm Setup

We also provide a configuration package for dual-arm setup: dual_arm_sim for virtual simulation and franka_dual_arm_hw for real hardware. In this setup, one arm writes text while the other arm erases it.

This dual-arm setup works on the same principles as the single-arm setup, with both arms mounted on a special angled mounting platform.

Additional Resources

FR3 Product Manual
FR3 Quick Guide for Installation
Quick Guide for Service Box
Franka Hand Product Manual
Franka Hand Quick Guide for Installation