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NEXUS: A ROS 2 frameworkfor orchestrating industrial
robotic lines and cells
Assistant Principal Engineer in Robotic Applications
Dejanira Araiza Illan
20 October 2023

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Automation is changing into advanced robotics
Traditional automation (last 70 years)

Program once, repeat forever▪
▪
▪
▪
▪
▪

High speed (PPM) and no operator
Predictability & reliability
Simple logic code with low complexity (e.g.
ladder code)
Well established hardware-based solutions
Certification & standards
Ecosystem of key market players

Advanced robotics (last 5 years)

Adaptive perception & manipulation with ML/AI
Coordination/cooperation, task mgmt. and autonomy▪ ML/AI + complex algorithms▪ Learning behaviours▪ Software-based solutions▪ High-level programming languages, highperformance computation with GPUs
▪ Open-source software▪ Not many standards, metrics, etc.
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Challenges with traditional automation

Market demand for customization
Need for advanced automation for
high-mix, low-volume use cases

Lack of agility, flexibility &reusability
Robotic applications cannot be easily
modified or reconfigured

Long development time
Need to reduce effort anddeployment costs

Hardware dependency & lack ofinteroperability
Technology transfer acrossgeographies is challenging
Silo solutions, require custom
integration for orchestration

Use of PLC logic
Control logic is hardcoded in PLCs
Supporting a “recipe” for a new productrequires reprogramming the PLC

Availability of digital twins
No easy way to accurately simulate
complex custom robotic solutions

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4We need an architecture for robotic platforms with...
Seamless orchestration & control
At robotic workcell levelAt line level (multiple robotic workcells)
LineModularity
Cells can be easily added, exchanged, modified

Flexibility & agility
Robotic workcells

Easy reconfiguration of process flows

Scalability

Lowers the cost for robotic cell adoption,
reconfiguration, upgrade, etc.

Hardware components

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5Isolated network DDS domains
DDS over multicast

NEXUS - architecture & core principles
Level 4
Business Planning

Plugins to interface
with hardware

ROS 2 lifecycle
nodes

MES/WMS/ERP node

Level 3Operations
Management

MES/WMS/ERP plugin
nexus_orchestrator_msgs

System orchestrator
nexus_orchestrator_msgs

Workcell #3
Workcell #2

Level 2Control System

Workcell #1
Workcell orchestrator
nexus_planner_msgs

Level 1Intelligent Devices
Level 0Physical Process

nexus_transporter_msgs

nexus_alarm_msgs

Actuatornode

Transporter node

Safety node

ActuatorpluginTransporter
pluginController
pluginnexus_orchestrator_msgs

trajectory_msgs

moveit_msgs

Robot Cmd
nodeMotion
Planner node

Perception
node

Gripper node

DriverpluginMoveItpluginSensorpluginGripperpluginImplementation of abstract interfaces
registered as plugins
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6NEXUS - architecture & core principles
Hardware - service providers Orchestrator - coordinates activities among hardware.

Modularity - Behavior trees to specify workflows and trigger hardware BT nodes are capabilities/skills, available at the line or workcell level.

Flexibility - Hardware registration, transmits capability to the orchestrator (e.g. transport,detect, move). Task capability is inferred based on registered hardware.

Agility - Hardware agnostic logic
 ROS 2 lifecycle (stateful) nodes
 Runtime loadable plugins for hardware nodes

Scalability - Hardware interfaces are standardized
 Minimal network traffic by selecting endpoints between workcells and line orchestrator

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Intelligent recipe execution• Recipe = one or more process steps in a line(different workcells)

Process
1

Process2

Process3…

• Recipes and process data stored in WMS/MES/ERP– Recipe execution dispatched (job request) to the lineorchestrator– Enables intuitive processes to onboard new recipes(e.g. GUI) vs PLC programming• Line orchestrator coordinates workcells andtransporters to execute recipe (job)– Available workcells and transporters bid to execute a
process – self-organization– Automatic queuing and buffering

I can perform
Process 1

I can perform
Process 2…
Workcell 5Workcell 7Conveyor• If a line and/or workcells reconfigure, the response
to a recipe will be adapted by the line orchestrator
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Behaviour Trees to specify process flows
Intuitive representation ofprocesses
Enables sequential and parallel
process execution
Easy to reconfigureApplicable at line and workcell
levelsComposable
Can be edited via GUI
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9Coordination of processes and control in workcells
 Multiple jobs can be executed
concurrently – enables highmix, low volumeJob 1{
step 1: Do process X with ZZ parameters
step 2: Do process Y with WW parameters}

 Steps between workcells aresynchronized using ROSservices
 Data propagates from one
workcell to other workcells
automatically Workcell orchestrators
coordinate hardware fromdifferent vendors through ROS
as a middleware
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Simulations to test exhaustively

System orchestrator

Workcell #N
Workcell orchestrator

Robot Cmd
nodeMotion
Planner node

Perception
node

Gripper node

Actuator
node

Simulation
pluginSimulation
pluginSimulation
pluginSimulation
pluginSimulation
pluginSimulator

 Running the orchestrators andnodes (code) with simulated
hardware Simulation plugins can interface
with Gazebo, RViz, etc. orcustomized hardware models
 Mixes of hardware andsimulation are possible forindividual component testing

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Adopting NEXUS
Workcell setup• Plugins for hardware components• Algorithms with parametrization for adaptation to recipes• Build behaviour trees for workcells - codes for each process stepLine setup• Building behaviour trees for line orchestrators

Recipe preparation• DB of recipes to create jobs in WMS/EMS/ERP – lists of processes, stepsand parameters
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Open challenges
ROS▪ Lack of support for open-source drivers in ROS 2 (robots, sensors, industrial equipment)▪ ROS 2 capabilities and optimization are work in progress

Other▪ Lack of an ecosystem of system integrators who work with ROS.
▪ Certification – how to?
▪ Adoption of new tools & algorithms – frequent upgrades might be required▪ Cybersecurity – authentication and data encryption

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Thank you
For more details and information please contact us
daraizai@its.jnj.com© 2023 Johnson & Johnson Services, Inc. All rights reserved. Any further distribution of this material without specific permission ofJohnson & Johnson Services, Inc. is strictly prohibited.

© 2023 Johnson & Johnson Services, Inc. All rights reserved. Any further distribution of this material without specific permission ofJohnson & Johnson Services, Inc. is strictly prohibited.