Hardware required to control industrial drivers through EtherCAT Communication Protocol.
I'm making an Articulated Robot that will be used in industry. I want to control it using ROS. I have found a lot of ways that made me confused such as SOEM package, Hardware_ethercat package, and connecting EtherCAT master devices such as Beckhoff TwinCAT or Acontis EC-Master. I want to know what are the steps to do that and which of these options is better. What are the hardware components that I will need to buy? what I have are a PC with ROS installed (or a Jetson controller), industrial drivers with EtherCAT protocol, and motors.
My robot should be real-time and precise, what is the best option? And if I chose SOEM, will I need Ethernet adapters or interface cards that support the EtherCAT protocol such as Beckhoff EtherCAT PCIe cards?
