OpenArm CAN Library

A C++ library for CAN communication with OpenArm robotic hardware, supporting Damiao motors over CAN/CAN-FD interfaces. This library is a part of OpenArm. See detailed setup guide and docs here.

Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Linux with SocketCAN support
• CAN interface hardware

1. Install

Ubuntu

• 22.04 Jammy Jellyfish
• 24.04 Noble Numbat

sudo apt install -y software-properties-common
sudo add-apt-repository -y ppa:openarm/main
sudo apt update
sudo apt install -y \
  libopenarm-can-dev \
  openarm-can-utils

2. Setup CAN Interface

Configure your CAN interface using the provided script:

# CAN 2.0 (default)
/usr/libexec/openarm-can/configure_socketcan.sh can0

# CAN-FD with 5Mbps data rate
/usr/libexec/openarm-can/configure_socketcan.sh can0 -fd

3. C++ Library

#include <openarm/can/socket/openarm.hpp>
#include <openarm/damiao_motor/dm_motor_constants.hpp>

openarm::can::socket::OpenArm arm("can0", true);  // CAN-FD enabled
std::vector<openarm::damiao_motor::MotorType> motor_types = {
    openarm::damiao_motor::MotorType::DM4310, openarm::damiao_motor::MotorType::DM4310};
std::vector<uint32_t> send_can_ids = {0x01, 0x02};
std::vector<uint32_t> recv_can_ids = {0x11, 0x12};

openarm.init_arm_motors(motor_types, send_can_ids, recv_can_ids);
openarm.enable_all();

See dev/README.md for how to build.

4. Python (🚧 EXPERIMENTAL - TEMPORARY 🚧)

⚠️ WARNING: UNSTABLE API ⚠️ Python bindings are currently a direct low level temporary port, and will change DRASTICALLY. The interface is may break between versions.Use at your own risk! Discussions on the interface are welcomed.

Build & Install:

Please ensure that you install the C++ library first, as 1. Install or dev/README.md.

cd python

# Create and activate virtual environment (recommended)
python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate

./build.sh

Usage:

# WARNING: This API is unstable and will change!
import openarm_can as oa

arm = oa.OpenArm("can0", True)  # CAN-FD enabled
arm.init_arm_motors([oa.MotorType.DM4310], [0x01], [0x11])
arm.enable_all()

Examples

• C++: examples/demo.cpp - Complete arm control demo
• Python: python/examples/example.py - Basic Python usage

For developers

See dev/README.md.

Related links

• 📚 Read the documentation
• 💬 Join the community on Discord
• 📬 Contact us through [email protected]

License

Licensed under the Apache License 2.0. See LICENSE.txt for details.

Copyright 2025 Enactic, Inc.

Code of Conduct

All participation in the OpenArm project is governed by our Code of Conduct.