Support for all stages from design to deployment of collaborative robots based on MATLAB
Jointly developed and launched a robotics system toolbox last year

Universal Robots joins the MathWorks Connections program to strengthen partnerships and accelerate collaborative robot automation innovation.

MathWorks, a leading developer of technical computing software, today announced that Universal Robots, the world’s #1 collaborative robot company, has joined the MathWorks Connections Program to strengthen its partnership.

Through the MathWorks Connections program, MathWorks supports organizations that develop and distribute products, training, and consulting based on its core products, MATLAB and Simulink.

The Robotics System Toolbox, jointly developed by MathWorks and Universal Robots, is used to design, simulate, test, and deploy applications for Universal Robots' collaborative robots.

Last year, MathWorks became a UR+ partner in the Universal Robots ecosystem, which includes more than 300 approved developers developing products for the Universal Robots platform. The two companies subsequently jointly developed a support package for the Robotics System Toolbox, which was released in 2023.

This allows engineers to design MATLAB-based collaborative robot applications using MATLAB and Robotics System Toolbox from MathWorks, then simulate and test them before deploying them to Universal Robots’ collaborative robots.

“With MathWorks joining UR+ and Universal Robots’ participation in the Connexions program, we are committed to furthering our work to help engineers develop advanced collaborative robot applications while ensuring deep compatibility with new MathWorks releases,” said Jim Tung, MathWorks Fellow. “Universal Robots’ market leadership and the broad usability of MATLAB and Simulink will enable system integrators and end users to continue to solve complex automation workflow challenges.”

“We are excited to expand our collaboration with Universal Robots as part of MathWorks’ Connections program,” said Jesper Kildegaard Poulsen, Senior Director of Digital Ecosystems for Universal Robots. “As Universal Robots continues to push the boundaries of what and how people can automate, we will work with MathWorks to simplify how robotics engineers deploy advanced collaborative robot applications.”

Meanwhile, MathWorks and Universal Robots will co-host the Autonomous Robot Manipulation Challenge (ARM Challenge) as a tie-in event to RoboCup 2024, which will be held in Eindhoven, the Netherlands in July this year. The ARM Challenge is an educational and scientific competition for young researchers and students, hosted by RoboCup and MathWorks, starting in 2021, in which participants complete tasks related to autonomous robot manipulation. Universal Robots, the 2024 co-host, will provide the UR5e robot that participants will use in the final round of the competition.