6. The 3D view panel#

The 3D view window shows a perspective projection of the robot in its current position, as well as the current WRF (World Reference Frame) and TRF (Tool Reference Frame). To zoom in and out, place your mouse cursor over the 3D view window and use your mouse wheel. To change the view angle, press the primary mouse button (if the button is highlighted) or the secondary mouse button (if the button is highlighted) inside the 3D view window, hold it down and drag the mouse. To pan, press the primary mouse button (if the button is highlighted) or the middle mouse button (if the button is highlighted) inside the 3D view window, hold it down and drag the mouse. You can also select one of several preset views from the menu.

Finally, you can show/hide the TRF, WRF, or the floor, and switch between perspective and orthographic projection from the menu. You can also download a high-resolution screen capture of the current 3D view by pressing the button.

6.1. The robot position display#

As soon as the MecaPortal appears, the current robot position appears at the top of the 3D view panel. By default, we show:

the four joint positions, θ₁, θ₂, and θ₄, in degrees, and d₃, in mm,
the position (x, y, z) and orientation (γ) of the TRF with respect to the WRF, in mm and degrees, respectively, and
the robot configuration parameter.

One of the main limitations, when operating a robot, is its joint limits, which are different for each joint. We have therefore added various visual cues , that represent the approximate joint position, relative to the corresponding joint limits. These cues are the up-pointing triangles under each joint position text field. The horizontal position of each triangle relative to the left and right limits of the corresponding text field, is proportional to the position of the corresponding joint relative to the joint limits. Furthermore, when the joint position is within 5° of the joint limit, the corresponding text field is highlighted in yellow, while if the joint limit is attained, the text field turns red.

Similarly, when the angle of joint 2 is close to or equal to 0° (elbow singularity), the corresponding text field is highlighted in yellow.

Another set of highly useful features can be accessed in the selection menus on the right of each of the three rows of data. You can select to either copy the data that is shown in the corresponding row by pressing the icon on the right (the icon is changed to ) or insert a specific command with arguments corresponding to the current robot position (the icon is changed to ). In addition, in the case of the first row of data, you can choose to show either the joints calculated or actual positions, the joints calculated or actual velocities, or even the joints torques. Similarly, in the case of the second row of data, you can choose to show either the calculated or actual pose of the TRF with respect to the WRF, or the calculated or actual Cartesian velocity of the TRF with respect to the WRF.

Table 3 shows the default keyboard shortcut for copying data from the robot position display or inserting instructions with that data at the current cursor in the code editor.

Table 3 Default keyboard shortcuts related to current robot position and reference frame definitions#
Shortcut	Action
`Alt`+`j`	Insert `MoveJoints` command with current joint set as arguments
`Alt`+`l`	Insert `MoveLin` command with current TRF pose as arguments
`Alt`+`p`	Insert `MovePose` command with current TRF pose as arguments
`Alt`+`c`	Insert `SetConf` command with current posture configuration parameters as arguments
`Alt`+`w`	Insert `SetWrf` command with current WRF pose as arguments
`Alt`+`t`	Insert `SetTrf` command with current TRF pose as arguments
`Alt`+`Shift`+`j`	Copy current joint set
`Alt`+`Shift`+`p`	Copy current TRF pose with respect to the WRF
`Alt`+`Shift`+`c`	Copy the current posture configuration parameters
`Alt`+`Shift`+`w`	Copy the current definition of the WRF
`Alt`+`Shift`+`t`	Copy the current definition of the TRF