26.4 - May 2026

Coming in hot like the first days of European summer, the 26.4 release of Wandelbots NOVA brings you a host of new features, improvements, and bug fixes to enhance your experience.

BREAKING CHANGES

Parameter changes

For the endpoints Plan collision-free trajectory and Search collision-free trajectories for multiple motion groups , the parameter max_step_size and adaptive_step_size under algorithm type RRT are deprecated in favor of step_size. We recommend updating your code as the new parameter avoids some common pitfalls.

What’s new?

Supported robots

Added support for 4 new robots:

KUKA

KL1500
KR 150 R2700-2
KR 210 R2700

YASKAWA

TURN-1

For an up to date overview of all supported controllers and motion groups (robotic arms and external axes), refer to the Compatibility section.

Two new experimental endpoints

There are two new kinematics endpoints:

Convert vendor-configured pose , which converts a list of vendor-specific configured poses into the vendor-independent configured-pose format used by the Wandelbots motion planner.
Inverse kinematics configured pose , which computes inverse kinematics for a list of TCP poses, each paired with a specific kinematic configuration, and returns the corresponding joint positions.

S7 Communication for simulated Siemens PLCs (experimental)

Wandelbots NOVA now supports S7 Communication (PUT/GET) for Siemens PLCs, enabling virtual commissioning against a simulated PLC running in SIMATIC S7-PLCSIM Advanced. Signals are registered by name via the NOVA API and can be read, written, and waited on from Python with the busio SDK functions, so robot programs can switch between PROFINET and S7 without code changes as long as signal names match.

The S7 service is configured through the BUS IO endpoints, for example POST /api/v2/cells/{cell}/bus-ios[https://portal.wandelbots.io/docs/api/v2/ui/#/operations/addBusIOService ] with bus_type: snap7. See the new S7 Communication guide for details.

What’s better?

Robot Pad uses API v2

Robot Pad is now based on API v2. The publicly available jogging component accessed through GitHub also uses API v2.

Cartesian PTP motion planning improvements

Cartesian PTP motion planning now supports specific kinematic configuration for target poses.

Previously, the target joint configuration was computed to remain in the same kinematic configuration as the start point. If no valid solution existed within that configuration, planning failed.

Bug fixes

Jogging error fix

Robots now stop jogging again when commanded to via API or button click.

UR safety zone violations are now properly handled

A UR added to NOVA now reads safety zones (planes) from the UR controller, meaning that a planner/jogger can plan around them, e.g., stop the robot before it drives into a safety zone and triggers a safety stop.

UR15 inverse joint

The UR15 USD model has been updated to accurately reflect all joints, now including the inverse joint 5.

UI text fixed

UI text for the App store is now fixed and no longer gives any error.

Manual mode limit handling

In manual mode, the velocities at the elbow and flange are now limited to the configured velocity limit for each robot type.

Install button fix

In the App store, the install button now no longer throws a 404 error after clicking Open before the app has been completely installed. Instead, a loading screen is displayed until the app can be opened safely.

Technical details

For an up to date overview of all compatible dependencies, refer to the Compatibility section.

Using Wandelbots NOVA on virtual machines

There has been a change in virtual machine support. Please contact Customer Success for help with your project if you are interested in incorporating a virtual machine.

For existing virtual machine users, there are no changes to the system requirements or support status. If you have any questions about your specific setup, please reach out to Customer Success.

Documentation

Added simulation quickstart guide

To consolidate duplicated information on how to set up a scene in NVIDIA Isaac Sim with Wandelbots NOVA, a quickstart guide has been introduced to the simulation section. The “Build a scene” guide was majorly added to the quickstart guide and remains now only as a top level for different tool guides, such as how to add a parallel gripper, a surface gripper or an external axis.

The ghost teaching section has been shortened and references the quickstart guide for the scene setup.

SR-IOV recommendation for production setups

The real-time performance guide now documents the SR-IOV recommendation for production, real-time, and PROFINET setups, including the full hardware and software stack dependencies. The recommendation also appears alongside the minimum system requirements.

Minimum system requirements clarified for one robot controller

The minimum system requirements now explicitly cover a setup with one connected robot controller. Guidance on scaling hardware resources for additional controllers is available in the FAQ. A new FAQ entry also clarifies that no dedicated PROFINET card is required for PROFINET integration.

Added automation 101

A new page has been added called Robotics basics which explains basic concepts and terminology necessary for using NOVA and understanding robotics.

FAQ for unexpected but harmeless lock up in UR added

The FAQ and UR robot’s page have been updated with new information on how to deal with an unexpected lock up during setup.

Added contact gripper guide

A new contact gripper guide has been added to the “Build a scene” section. It explains how to configure a kinematic, sensor-based contact gripper in NVIDIA Isaac Sim, including how to set up the sensor prim and wire up the Contact Gripper node in an action graph to grasp and release workpieces.

Added installing behind a proxy guide

A new guide on installing Wandelbots NOVA behind a proxy has been added to the installation section. It provides step-by-step instructions for configuring proxy settings during the NOVA installation process, ensuring that users in environments with restricted internet access can successfully install and use NOVA.

Added direction constraint guide

A new direction constraint guide has been added to the NOVA concepts section. It explains how to plan motions with direction constraints on the TCP, including how to define the constraint with world and TCP axes, calculate it from a valid robot pose, and satisfy it when planning trajectories or collision-free paths.

UR installation update

The UR installation guide has been updated to reflect necessary steps regarding manual installation workaround of URCaps files on newer Polyscope versions.