The Robot Cell Simulator opens a complete robot cell in 3D – layout, components, robots and their tools – together with the original robot programs from the robot archives (VKRC / KRC, VW standard). The robots can be moved by hand, single programs or the whole cell can be simulated with a motion planner, tools are changed automatically at the docking stations and the work zones of the robots show where the robots share space and whether those areas are protected by interlocks.
Supported controllers: KUKA VKRC / KRC (VW standard) and, since 2026-10-20, Fanuc robots in the VW standard – their archives are recognized automatically and translated for the simulation (Fanuc robots).
DReS Robot Cell Simulator - Motion Planner, Work Zones and Interlocks in a Robot Cell (YouTube, English)
Robot cell with six robots, their tools and docking stations
Contents
| Basics | |
Getting started | requirements, first configuration, wizard, opening a cell, session file, the main window, the AI Agent window (chat with an AI agent that runs the simulation) |
| 3D view and settings | toolbar, camera, transparency, culling, level of detail, screenshots |
| Robots, tools and jog | model browser, attaching tools, moving the axes, Cartesian jog |
| Programs and paths | program tree, drawing paths, single program run, breakpoints, Touch up, point in the editor |
| Simulation | |
| Cell simulation | run on all robots, program flow, motion planner, motion times |
| Station PLC (SPS) and SmartPad | simulated station PLC: SPS program editor (Start, Wait, Station, Robot), Folgenstart and releases, SmartPad of every robot with program line and signals E/A/F/M |
| Auto-Docking | automatic tool change at the docking stations, tool change rules (XML) |
| Interlocks and collisions | |
| Work zones and collisions | work zones, entries without interlock, collision matrix, path in interlock colors, automatic insertion of interlocks |
| What RCS checks | every check of the interlocks, signals, comments, long texts and robot names: what is wrong in the program, example, severity, correction |
| Robustness test | series of simulations with different robot speeds (override), start jitter, pauses and service times from a plan file or a random generator: collision risks, deadlocks, return to the cycle time - report HTML / PDF / JSON |
| AI and automation | |
| AI Agent window (chat) | chat with an AI model in the tab next to the messages: it loads, runs, finds races, checks interlocks and reports for you; direct commands /status, /run ... without tokens; connection via Anthropic API key, Claude Code (claude.ai account) or VW LLMaaS; settings Tools > Settings... > AI Agent |
| Anonymised study for AI | results of the work zones, Check interlocks and the simulation without names, coordinates or program text for an AI assistant (Copilot, local model); the key to the real names stays on the computer; Import AI proposals applies the changes proposed by the AI to the programs and compares the cycle times before and after |
| VeRa - AI agent and voice control | the AI agent of DReS: voice commands, AI assistant (MCP) and scripts for the editor and the simulator; settings Extras > Settings > AI Agent |
| Command API | control the simulator from scripts, nightly regression tests, AI agent (load, run, report, work zones, check interlocks, every option of the windows) |
| Command API - reference | all menu actions, controls of the panels and settings that the API can read and change |
| Technology and licenses | |
| Running, processor and accuracy | how the simulation runs: threads and processor cores, simulation clock, preparation in the background, rendering, how realistic the times are |
| GPU and limitations | graphics card settings, memory, limits, typical messages |
| Licenses | modules of the plugin with their key feature numbers: what each license unlocks (functions, menus, API commands) and what works without it |
| Tests and comparisons | |
| Comparison of the test kinds | which test finds which collisions on a real station: fixed plan, random generator, plan of an AI agent from anonymized data, delay test (MISSING) - time, speed, found places, recommended order; request races / variant B |
| Light version | |
| Robot Cell Simulator Lite | light version: top view of the cell without 3D models, reach, TCP areas and shared areas |
Quick start
- Open the plugin: Plugins → Robot Cell Simulator (the light 2D version: Plugins → Robot Cell Simulator Lite).
Plugins menu: single plugins first, sub menus of plugin groups at the end - Set the library of components (Tools → Set Client System Root) and the folder with the robot archives (Tools → Set Robots Archive Files) – or use File → Wizard. See Getting started.
- Open the cell study (*.psz or StandaloneStudy_PsState.xml) and select the components to load.
- Click a robot in the Model Browser: its programs appear in the Programs panel. Click the eye icon of a program to draw its path, press ▶ to run it.
- Run a program on all robots in the Simulation tab, calculate the work zones in the Work Zones tab and open the Collision matrix.
Licenses
The plugin has these modules, each with its own license (details: Licenses):
- Basic – opens cells, moves robots, runs single programs.
- Simulation – run on all robots, motion planner, Auto-Docking, tab Times (cycle times, report).
- SPS – the program of the station and the SmartPads of the robots.
- Work Zones – work zones of all robots, collision matrix, Check interlocks, collision check of the run.
- Robustness test – series of simulations with different speeds, stops and service programs.
- Collision 3D – Live 3D collision check of the robot and tool models during the simulation.
- The additional license API / CLI – command API for scripts and AI agents. The voice control VeRa needs it too.
The current status is shown in Help → Licenses... and by a lock icon on the tabs of modules without a license. Help → Reconnect license in DReS checks the key again at once (e.g. after the key was plugged in).