Cannot configure hardware interface with no activate

[KrzysztofDubel]

Affected ROS2 Driver version(s)

humble

Used ROS distribution.

Humble

Which combination of platform is the ROS driver running on.

Ubuntu Linux with standard kernel

How is the UR ROS2 Driver installed.

Build both the ROS driver and UR Client Library from source

Which robot platform is the driver connected to.

Real robot

Robot SW / URSim version(s)

Polyscope X - 10.11.0

How is the ROS driver used.

Through the robot teach pendant using External Control URCap

Issue details

Summary

When running ROS2 control controller manager node that starts the UR hardware interface if I just configure it but don't activate it I get this error [UR_Client_Library:]: The type should be 1, 2 or 3. The type is 0.

Issue details

When running the controller manager it is possible to leave the hardware interface unconfigured or inactive and later activate. If I activate immediately after configuring, everything works fine. But if I leave the hw interface inactive or configure it after (without activating) I get this error:

[UR_Client_Library:]: The type should be 1, 2 or 3. The type is 0

The error is caused by this code being in the on_activate function:

hardware_interface::CallbackReturn
URPositionHardwareInterface::on_activate(const rclcpp_lifecycle::State& previous_state)
{
  RCLCPP_INFO(rclcpp::get_logger("URPositionHardwareInterface"), "Activating HW interface");

  for (size_t i = 0; i < 6; i++) {
    force_mode_task_frame_[i] = NO_NEW_CMD_;
    force_mode_selection_vector_[i] = static_cast<uint32_t>(NO_NEW_CMD_);
    force_mode_wrench_[i] = NO_NEW_CMD_;
    force_mode_limits_[i] = NO_NEW_CMD_;
  }
  force_mode_type_ = static_cast<unsigned int>(NO_NEW_CMD_);
  return hardware_interface::CallbackReturn::SUCCESS;
}

Before setting the force_mode_type_ to NO_NEW_CMD_ whenever we try to use it in a separate thread (which the hw interface is probably doing` it throws the error.

Steps to Reproduce

1. Start the ur_control.launch on a real robot.
2. Unconfigure the hardware interface
3. Configure the hardware interface

Expected Behavior

No errors when configuring the hardware interface. It is sometimes worth leaving the hw interface inactive to let other hardware interfaces configure before activating everything.

Actual Behavior

An error is thrown because the value is not set before activation.

Workaround Suggestion

Move the force_mode related code to the end of the on_configure function.

Relevant log output

[ur_ros2_control_node-6] [INFO] [1765817022.208058440] [resource_manager]: 'configure' hardware 'manipulator' 
[ur_ros2_control_node-6] [INFO] [1765817022.208103464] [URPositionHardwareInterface]: Starting ...please wait...
[ur_ros2_control_node-6] [INFO] [1765817022.208141687] [URPositionHardwareInterface]: Initializing driver...
[ur_ros2_control_node-6] [INFO] [1765817022.208999058] [UR_Client_Library:]: SCHED_FIFO OK, priority 99
[ur_ros2_control_node-6] [INFO] [1765817022.210552823] [UR_Client_Library:]: Negotiated RTDE protocol version to 2.
[ur_ros2_control_node-6] [INFO] [1765817022.210954725] [UR_Client_Library:]: Setting up RTDE communication with frequency 500.000000
[ur_ros2_control_node-6] [INFO] [1765817023.260389325] [UR_Client_Library:]: Starting primary client pipeline
[ur_ros2_control_node-6] [INFO] [1765817023.323961477] [URPositionHardwareInterface]: Calibration checksum: 'calib_221927923814618764'.
[ur_ros2_control_node-6] [INFO] [1765817023.324003272] [URPositionHardwareInterface]: Calibration checked successfully.
[ur_ros2_control_node-6] [INFO] [1765817023.324068477] [URPositionHardwareInterface]: System successfully started!
[ur_ros2_control_node-6] [INFO] [1765817023.324088784] [resource_manager]: Successful 'configure' of hardware 'manipulator'
[ur_ros2_control_node-6] [INFO] [1765817023.324408191] [UR_Client_Library:]: SCHED_FIFO OK, priority 99
[ros2-7] Successfully set manipulator to state lifecycle_msgs.msg.State(id=2, label='inactive')
[ur_ros2_control_node-6] [INFO] [1765817023.350488441] [UR_Client_Library:]: Robot connected to reverse interface. Ready to receive control commands.
[ur_ros2_control_node-6] [ERROR] [1765817023.352099246] [UR_Client_Library:]: The type should be 1, 2 or 3. The type is 0
[ur_ros2_control_node-6] terminate called after throwing an instance of 'urcl::InvalidRange'
[ur_ros2_control_node-6]   what():  The type should be 1, 2 or 3. The type is 0
[ur_ros2_control_node-6] Stack trace (most recent call last) in thread 419077:
[ur_ros2_control_node-6] #17   Object "", at 0xffffffffffffffff, in 
[ur_ros2_control_node-6] #16   Object "/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libc.so.6", at 0x79a97354e8bf, in 
[ur_ros2_control_node-6] #15   Object "/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libc.so.6", at 0x79a9734bcac2, in 
[ur_ros2_control_node-6] #14   Object "/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libstdc++.so.6.0.30", at 0x79a97374f252, in 
[ur_ros2_control_node-6] #13   Object "/workspaces/isaac_ros-dev/ros_ws/install/ur_robot_driver/lib/ur_robot_driver/ur_ros2_control_node", at 0x5c29fa6c862a, in main::{lambda()#1}::operator()() const
[ur_ros2_control_node-6] #12   Object "/workspaces/isaac_ros-dev/ros_ws/install/controller_manager/lib/libcontroller_manager.so", at 0x79a973bb6084, in controller_manager::ControllerManager::write(rclcpp::Time const&, rclcpp::Duration const&)
[ur_ros2_control_node-6] #11   Object "/workspaces/isaac_ros-dev/ros_ws/install/hardware_interface/lib/libhardware_interface.so", at 0x79a973308b7c, in hardware_interface::ResourceManager::write(rclcpp::Time const&, rclcpp::Duration const&)
[ur_ros2_control_node-6] #10   Object "/workspaces/isaac_ros-dev/ros_ws/install/hardware_interface/lib/libhardware_interface.so", at 0x79a9733403af, in hardware_interface::System::write(rclcpp::Time const&, rclcpp::Duration const&)
[ur_ros2_control_node-6] #9    Object "/workspaces/isaac_ros-dev/ros_ws/install/ur_robot_driver/lib/libur_robot_driver_plugin.so", at 0x79a97038c71e, in ur_robot_driver::URPositionHardwareInterface::write(rclcpp::Time const&, rclcpp::Duration const&)
[ur_ros2_control_node-6] #8    Object "/workspaces/isaac_ros-dev/ros_ws/install/ur_robot_driver/lib/libur_robot_driver_plugin.so", at 0x79a9703855cc, in ur_robot_driver::URPositionHardwareInterface::start_force_mode()
[ur_ros2_control_node-6] #7    Object "/workspaces/isaac_ros-dev/ros_ws/install/ur_client_library/lib/liburcl.so", at 0x79a9704f8393, in urcl::UrDriver::startForceMode(std::array<double, 6ul> const&, std::array<unsigned int, 6ul> const&, std::array<double, 6ul> const&, unsigned int, std::array<double, 6ul> const&, double, double) [clone .cold]
[ur_ros2_control_node-6] #6    Object "/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libstdc++.so.6.0.30", at 0x79a9737214d7, in __cxa_throw
[ur_ros2_control_node-6] #5    Object "/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libstdc++.so.6.0.30", at 0x79a973721276, in std::terminate()
[ur_ros2_control_node-6] #4    Object "/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libstdc++.so.6.0.30", at 0x79a97372120b, in 
[ur_ros2_control_node-6] #3    Object "/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libstdc++.so.6.0.30", at 0x79a973715b9d, in 
[ur_ros2_control_node-6] #2    Object "/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libc.so.6", at 0x79a9734507f2, in abort
[ur_ros2_control_node-6] #1    Object "/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libc.so.6", at 0x79a97346a475, in raise
[ur_ros2_control_node-6] #0    Object "/usr/lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libc.so.6", at 0x79a9734be9fc, in pthread_kill
[ur_ros2_control_node-6] Aborted (Signal sent by tkill() 419033 1000)
[ERROR] [ur_ros2_control_node-6]: process has died

Accept Public visibility

• I agree to make this context public

[urfeex]

Thank you for reporting this. That comes a bit as a surprise, since we actually have an integration test checking the lifecycle transitions.

I'll try to reproduce it.

---

Edit: I cannot reproduce this:

[ur_ros2_control_node-1] [INFO 2025-12-18 08:30:22.319] [resource_manager]: 'deactivate' hardware 'ur5e' 
[ur_ros2_control_node-1] [INFO 2025-12-18 08:30:22.319] [resource_manager]: Successful 'deactivate' of hardware 'ur5e'
[ur_ros2_control_node-1] [INFO 2025-12-18 08:30:22.319] [resource_manager]: 'cleanup' hardware 'ur5e' 
[ur_ros2_control_node-1] [INFO 2025-12-18 08:30:22.319] [URPositionHardwareInterface]: Stopping ...please wait...
[ur_ros2_control_node-1] [INFO 2025-12-18 08:30:22.334] [UR_Client_Library:]: Stopping primary client pipeline
[ur_ros2_control_node-1] [INFO 2025-12-18 08:30:23.552] [URPositionHardwareInterface]: System successfully stopped!
[ur_ros2_control_node-1] [INFO 2025-12-18 08:30:23.552] [resource_manager]: Successful 'cleanup' of hardware 'ur5e'
[ur_ros2_control_node-1] [INFO 2025-12-18 08:30:39.360] [resource_manager]: 'configure' hardware 'ur5e' 
[ur_ros2_control_node-1] [INFO 2025-12-18 08:30:39.361] [URPositionHardwareInterface]: Starting ...please wait...
[ur_ros2_control_node-1] [INFO 2025-12-18 08:30:39.361] [URPositionHardwareInterface]: Initializing driver...
[ur_ros2_control_node-1] [INFO 2025-12-18 08:30:39.363] [UR_Client_Library:]: Negotiated RTDE protocol version to 2.
[ur_ros2_control_node-1] [INFO 2025-12-18 08:30:39.363] [UR_Client_Library:]: Setting up RTDE communication with frequency 500.000000
[ur_ros2_control_node-1] [INFO 2025-12-18 08:30:40.374] [UR_Client_Library:]: Starting primary client pipeline
[ur_ros2_control_node-1] [INFO 2025-12-18 08:30:40.505] [URPositionHardwareInterface]: Calibration checksum: 'calib_12788084448423163542'.
[ur_ros2_control_node-1] [INFO 2025-12-18 08:30:40.505] [URPositionHardwareInterface]: Calibration checked successfully.
[ur_ros2_control_node-1] [INFO 2025-12-18 08:30:40.505] [URPositionHardwareInterface]: System successfully started!
[ur_ros2_control_node-1] [INFO 2025-12-18 08:30:40.505] [resource_manager]: Successful 'configure' of hardware 'ur5e'
[ur_ros2_control_node-1] [INFO 2025-12-18 08:30:46.449] [resource_manager]: 'activate' hardware 'ur5e' 
[ur_ros2_control_node-1] [INFO 2025-12-18 08:30:46.449] [URPositionHardwareInterface]: Activating HW interface
[ur_ros2_control_node-1] [INFO 2025-12-18 08:30:46.449] [resource_manager]: Successful 'activate' of hardware 'ur5e'

The error you see comes from the client library when trying to start the force mode. That method is only invoked from

Universal_Robots_ROS2_Driver/ur_robot_driver/src/hardware_interface.cpp

Lines 886 to 889 in ee06335

	if (!std::isnan(force_mode_task_frame_[0]) && !std::isnan(force_mode_selection_vector_[0]) &&
	!std::isnan(force_mode_wrench_[0]) && !std::isnan(force_mode_type_) && !std::isnan(force_mode_limits_[0]) &&
	!std::isnan(force_mode_damping_) && !std::isnan(force_mode_gain_scaling_) && ur_driver_ != nullptr) {
	start_force_mode();

Do you use a custom controller to use the HW interface's force mode that writes data to the force mode parameters and sets the type to 0? I think, I don't fully understand that statement:

Before setting the force_mode_type_ to NO_NEW_CMD_ whenever we try to use it in a separate thread (which the hw interface is probably doing` it throws the error.

What separate thread do you use?

[KrzysztofDubel]

I was talking about the async_thread that is started in on_configure. But now I see there is no reason it should be causing the issue.
https://github.com/UniversalRobots/Universal_Robots_ROS2_Driver/blob/ee06335a33a67dbddf9de97a408da51b2f1bd7f9/ur_robot_driver/src/hardware_interface.cpp#L664C79-L664C90

I don't use any controllers other than those defined in ur_controllers.yaml and most of them are inactive.

I can't reproduce the problem anymore for some reason. I will try more.

[KrzysztofDubel]

I have tested a bit more and found that it in fact does not happen with the ur_control.launch.py but it does with my launch.
The problem happens only if the hw interface has never been activated. After I activate -> unconfigure -> configure there is no error. Now I need to find what's different between my setup and the one from ur_robot_driver.

I'm looking through the hw interface parameters in URDF. Anywhere else I should check?

[KrzysztofDubel]

That was quick. Literally the first parameter I looked at.
The error happens only when headless_mode is set to true.

Note: My robot is in Automatic mode and in Remote control mode.

So a full recipe to replicate this is:

1. Add this line in the ur_control_node's parameters in ur_control.launch.py

   {"hardware_components_initial_state": {"unconfigured": [ur_type.perform(context)]}},

2. [Optional] Comment the launching of controller spawners
3. Launch the ur_control with headless_mode:=true

   ros2 launch ur7e.launch.py robot_ip:=192.168.0.10 headless_mode:=true`
   

4. Set the hardware interface to inactive

   ros2 control set_hardware_component_state <ur_type> inactive

The error should contain:

[ur_ros2_control_node-6] [ERROR] [1765817023.352099246] [UR_Client_Library:]: The type should be 1, 2 or 3. The type is 0
[ur_ros2_control_node-6] terminate called after throwing an instance of 'urcl::InvalidRange'