Technical Paper Abstract
As industrial robotics adoption accelerates, the need for standardized, vendor neutral integration between Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) and robot controllers has become increasingly critical. While the Standard Robot Controller Interface (SRCI) specification [2] defines a comprehensive, PLC centric command and state model for robotic systems, it does not prescribe a Common Industrial Protocol (CIP) based transport suitable for EtherNet/IP environments. This paper proposes a new CIP profile that enables EtherNet/IP as a standardized transport for interacting with SRCI compliant robot and robot control equipment.
The paper examines the architectural and protocol considerations required to map SRCI capabilities onto CIP technologies, with emphasis on the SRCI Command formulation through EtherNet/IP connections and other applicable CIP technology capabilities. Key topics include transport mapping strategies, definition of communication and command state machines, fragmentation and reassembly of SRCI messages, priority handling for command sequencing, and execution behavior aligned with CIP requirements. The approach addresses communication patterns while preserving SRCI semantics for command execution, status reporting, and synchronization.
In addition, the paper provides categories of SRCI command support (e.g. core, extended, and optional functions) and explores how these categories can be represented via the CIP protocol for scalable adoption across ODVA compliant devices. PLC and robot controller interfacing models are discussed to illustrate how SRCI based command execution can be integrated into existing EtherNet/IP control architectures.
The expected outcome is a reusable, standards aligned framework that enables interoperable PLC to robot communication using CIP and EtherNet/IP. By providing CIP transports to support the SRCI standard and network data transmission the aim is to reduce integration complexity, promote multi-vendor compatibility, and provide a foundation for future enhancements in industrial robotics control within the ODVA ecosystem.
Keywords
Standard Robot Controller Interface (SRCI), Common Industrial Protocol (CIP), EtherNet/IP, PLC-to-Robot Communication, Industrial Robotics Integration, Transport Mapping, Robot Command State Machine, Message Fragmentation and Reassembly, Command Sequencing and Prioritization, Multi-Vendor Interoperability, Deterministic Industrial Control.
Paper and presentation from the 2026 ODVA Industry Conference & 24th Annual Meeting: to be published November 2
Tommaso Fochi, Principal Engineer, Rockwell Automation
Paul Brooks, Senior Manager, Open Architecture Management, Rockwell Automation
Joakim Wiberg, Director of Technology, ODVA, Inc.
Todd Wiese, Principal Software Systems Architect, Rockwell Automation