Edge Driver SDK

Introduction

Tulip offers a wide range of built-in device integrations, including scales, barcode scanners, torque drivers, and more. However, there may be cases where you need to integrate specialized devices not natively supported by Tulip, or you've developed custom hardware specifically for your workflow. Additionally, if you're a device manufacturer, you might want to integrate your devices into the Tulip platform for others to use!

Previously, you could achieve these integrations using Edge Devices, Connector Functions, Custom Widgets, or the generic serial device type in Tulip Player. While these methods work in some scenarios, we have introduced another flexible and scalable approach: custom Edge Drivers. This allows for simple but powerful integration into Tulip Apps and workflows.

How It Works

It's seven simple steps from discovery to deployment - and we’re here to help walk you through them!

Here’s a brief overview:

1. Discovery - Find your device and check if it’s supported by Tulip’s library. If it is, you’re ready to go, it should either be pre-loaded in your Tulip instance or available on the Library. If it's not, you can follow the rest of the steps below.
2. Create - get your project started with simple NPM commands and set up on your local IDE (integrated development environment).
3. Develop - use Tulip's tools to build your custom driver.
4. Test - test your project using our local testing tools.
5. Iterate - fix and improve your project.
6. Submit - package up your project and send it to developers@tulip.co.
7. Deploy - utilize your new driver in the app editor and deploy it in an app to the shopfloor.

You may find it most helpful to go through our Driver Example & Walkthrough.

Tulip Edge Drivers are written in TypeScript or JavaScript and are powered by the Tulip Edge Driver SDK. We provide tools to help you write, test, and deploy your driver, which runs inside the Tulip Player app.

The Edge Driver SDK currently supports communication with these common protocols or classes:

• Serial
• Modbus RTU
• HID
• Torque OpenProtocol