The PLCnext ROS Bridge is an open-source integration layer that connects Phoenix Contact PLCnext industrial PLCs to ROS-based robotic systems. It runs as a Docker-packaged PLCnext App and provides bidirectional communication between the PLC's Global Data Space (GDS) and ROS topics via gRPC. A code-generation workflow driven by an Interface Description File (IDF) automates creation of ROS publishers and subscribers for selected PLC variables. This lets ROS developers offload deterministic control, industrial fieldbus communication (EtherCAT/FSoE, PROFINET/PROFIsafe), and functional safety to the PLC while keeping high-performance computation in ROS. The app can be deployed via CI/CD and the PLCnext Web-Based Management interface, with source code and a demo available on GitHub and the PLCnext Store.
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