Robotics
Universal Robots Cobot Programming with PolyScope
Set up and program a Universal Robots cobot in PolyScope, practising on the free URSim simulator.
Universal Robots Cobot Programming with PolyScope is a free, self-paced online course from EDWartens for engineering students, apprentices, technicians and working engineers in manufacturing and robotics. It has 11 modules and takes about 10.2 hours, with written notes, a practice task per module, a practical project and a final assessment of 15 questions (pass mark 60%). Learning costs nothing and needs only a free account. The optional EDWartens Certificate of Completion, verifiable by code, is a one-off US$23.99 for you; it is not a vendor credential. Updated 1 November 2026.
- Free
- Beginner
- 10.2 hours
- Self-paced
- Certificate optional
- Lab practice in your browser
No card, no trial. The course is free for good. Certificate US$23.99, optional.
- Who it is for
- Engineering students, apprentices, technicians and working engineers in manufacturing and robotics
- Jobs
- Roles that use this skill: robot programmer, automation engineer, cell integrator and maintenance technician. No course guarantees a job.
- Tools
- URSim offline simulator (free) and PolyScope. Hardware: none required. Any UR e-Series or CB-series arm makes the safety and I/O modules real.
- Updated
After this course you can
By the end you will be able to:
- Set up a UR cobot and bring it to safe operation
- Configure the TCP, payload, safety planes and limits
- Write PolyScope programs with waypoints, subprograms and blends
- Build pick-and-place and pallet routines
- Talk to the robot from URScript, RTDE and a PLC over PROFINET
Who it is for, and what you need first
Who it is for
Engineering students, apprentices, technicians and working engineers in manufacturing and robotics.
Level: Beginner. Beginner to intermediate. Basic PLC or robot awareness helps.
What you need
Software: URSim offline simulator (free) and PolyScope.
Hardware: None required. Any UR e-Series or CB-series arm makes the safety and I/O modules real.. What to download, and how.
How this course works
Watch the lessons
Short video lessons, one module at a time, at your own pace.
Read the notes
Open the Reading tab for the written notes and diagrams of the module.
Practise in the 3D labOptional
Try the module in the free 3D lab, in your browser.
Check yourself
Answer the questions to see what stuck before you move on.
Final assessment
Pass the final once you have been through the modules.
Certificate, if you want oneOptional
Optional, with a page anyone can use to verify it.
What you learn
11 modules in order, at your own pace. 10.2 hours of video lessons, with written notes and a practice task in each module.
- 1Cobots and the UR Family, with lab practice: 33m
- 2Tool Configuration: TCP, Orientation and Payload12m
- 3Safety Configuration, with lab practice: 9m
- 4First Programs in PolyScope, with lab practice: 14m
- 5Pick, Place and Palletising, with lab practice: 23m
- 6Force, Blends and Program Flow24m
- 7Simulator, Updates and Maintenance23m
- 8URScript32m
Show the other 3 modules
- 9Interfaces: RTDE, Sockets, PROFINET and Robot-to-Robot40m
- 10Applications: Machine Tending, Vision and CNC, with lab practice: 45m
- 11Final Assessment
Software you need
What to download, where from, what it costs and how to install it. Every link goes to the maker's own site, never a mirror.
Show what to download (2 tools)
Required
- 01Free
URSim offline simulator
Universal Robots
- Runs on
- Linux natively; Windows or macOS through a virtual machine (VMware Player or VirtualBox); also available as a Docker image
- Account
- A free Universal Robots website account (login is required to download)
Universal Robots offers URSim as a free download for offline programming and simulation of UR robot programs. The non-Linux package is a virtual machine with simulators for UR3e, UR5e, UR10e and UR20, and only one simulator runs at a time.
Steps
- 1.Open the Universal Robots download centre and choose the Offline Simulator for your system (Linux, or non-Linux for Windows and macOS).
- 2.Sign in or create a free Universal Robots account to access the files.
- 3.For Windows or macOS, install VMware Player or VirtualBox and a tool such as 7-Zip.
- 4.Extract the RAR archive and import or open the virtual machine in your VM player.
- 5.Start the VM and launch the simulator for the robot model you need.
- Allow at least 8 GB of free disk space and a screen of at least 1280x800.
- Docker users can run the official universalrobots/ursim_e-series image instead of a full VM.
- Pick the PolyScope version that matches your course or your real robot.
Official download pageuniversal-robots.comAlternatives
- URSim Docker image: UR's own guide to running URSim in Docker, handy on Linux or for ROS work.
Optional
Useful, not needed to finish the course.
- 02Free
Oracle VirtualBox
Oracle
- Runs on
- Windows, macOS (Intel and Apple Silicon), Linux and Solaris hosts
- Account
- None needed
The VirtualBox platform packages are free and open source under GPL version 3. The separate Extension Pack is free only for personal and educational use (PUEL licence); business use of the Extension Pack needs a commercial licence from Oracle.
Steps
- 1.Open virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads.
- 2.Click the package for your host system (for example, Windows hosts).
- 3.Run the installer and accept the network driver prompts.
- 4.Open VirtualBox, click New, choose your ISO file (for example Ubuntu or Windows) and follow the wizard.
- Turn on hardware virtualisation (Intel VT-x or AMD-V) in your PC's BIOS or UEFI if VirtualBox says it is not available.
- You do not need the Extension Pack for normal lab work. Install it only if you need its extra features and your use is personal or educational.
Official download pagevirtualbox.org
Checked against each maker's own page on 27 September 2026. Trial lengths and editions change; the maker's page is the final word.
Practise in the 3D lab
Practise the safe start, point teaching, pick and place and palletising from the course on a working robot arm in the lab.
- Safe startRobotics lab, about 15 minOpen in the lab (opens in a new tab): Safe start
- Teach and runRobotics lab, about 30 minOpen in the lab (opens in a new tab): Teach and run
- Pick and placeRobotics lab, about 25 minOpen in the lab (opens in a new tab): Pick and place
- PalletisingRobotics lab, about 30 minOpen in the lab (opens in a new tab): Palletising
Optional. Skip it whenever you like: it never blocks your progress or your certificate.
Course project, about 18 hours
Screwdriving and kitting station on a UR10e: PolyScope program, contact limits and a PLC handshake
Design, program, safeguard and document a UR10e cell that drives screws into smart-meter housings and lifts each meter into a shipping tote on a bench it shares with an operator. You build the PolyScope program, a handshake table, a risk register and a safety configuration with its checksum. You also deliver a contact force argument, a FAT record and an operator note. The sample pack shows what an integrator hands over.
- 8documents in the pack
- 9steps to follow
- 7things to hand in
- 18 hof work, at your pace
- Cell layoutStation ST-14 Layout and Safeguarding: Screwdriving and Kitting Cobot Cell
- Risk registerRisk Assessment Register: Station ST-14 (ISO 12100, task-based, with ISO/TS 15066)
- SRSSafety Requirements Specification: Station ST-14 Safety Functions
- I/O handshakePLC-Robot I/O Handshake Table: L2-PLC to UR10e ST-14
- Control narrativeCycle Description and Modes: Station ST-14 Screwdriving and Kitting
- Test reportCollaborative Contact Force and Pressure Measurement and Stopping Performance: UR10e at ST-14
The project is optional practice. The certificate needs only the modules and the final assessment.
After the course, your next step
Show what you can do, then keep going in the same field.
A certificate you can verify
Finish the modules and pass the final assessment (15 questions, pass mark 60%) and you can add a certificate with a public verification page. One-off, US$23.99 for you. It is not a vendor credential.
Want a free certificate? Do the matching Free internship: 4 weeks, nothing to buy, with a free certificate of completion.
PLC Programming
Eight short weeks of PLC ladder logic on free simulators: notes, diagrams, a few videos and auto-tested tasks. Finish weeks 1 to 4 and the final, then claim a free Internship Completion Certificate with your real dates and study hours, and a QR code anyone can scan to verify it. Training, not employment.
See the internshipPart of a learning path
Courses in a planned order, so each one builds on the last.
More free courses
Roles that use this skill
- Robot programmer
- Automation engineer
- Cell integrator
- Maintenance technician
These are the kinds of roles where the skill is used. We make no promise of a job or an interview.
Plain notes
- Free: the whole course, the notes, the practice tasks, the final assessment and support from practising engineers.
- Paid, and optional: the course certificate, and the Engineer-verified internship (the Free internship costs nothing).
- No job promise: the course teaches a skill. It does not place you in a job.
- Lessons by: Ray Fulks, Universal Robots Academy. Independent creators; the lessons stream from their own channels. EDWartens wrote the study plan, notes, practice tasks and assessments.
Ray Fulks · Universal Robots Academy. If you are one of these creators and want a lesson removed or credited differently, write to info@edwartens.com.
Practise what you learn in the free 3D lab
Technical work is judged on what you can do: wiring, commissioning, finding a fault. Doing a task yourself teaches more than watching it a second time, and a lab lets you try it safely before you meet real equipment. It does not replace working on real hardware.
- Practise safely, so a mistake costs nothing.
- The lab checks your work like a site test, so you know when it is right.
- Free, in your browser, with nothing to install.
Why learn with EDWartens
What you get with this course, and what comes after it.
- Free from the first lesson to the final assessment.
- Practice in a free 3D lab in your browser, with nothing to install.
- Video lessons with written notes and a project.
- An optional certificate that anyone can verify online.
- Free internships to keep practising afterwards.
Common questions
Do I need a robot?
No. URSim runs PolyScope on a PC or virtual machine, so every program in the course can be written and tested without hardware.
Which UR models does this cover?
The e-Series (UR3e to UR16e) with notes on the CB3 series still common in plants; the programming is the same.
Is URScript necessary?
Not for a first job, but the module shows what the pendant generates and how a PC or PLC talks to the robot, which is where integrator work goes.
Is the Universal Robots Cobot Programming with PolyScope course really free?
Yes. Every module, practice task and assessment. You create an account so your progress is saved and the assessments can be marked. The certificate is the only paid item, and only if you want it.
What certificate do I get, and is it a vendor qualification?
An EDWartens Certificate of Completion, issued when you pass the final assessment, with a verification code anyone can check. It is not a vendor credential and is never described as one.
Who made the video lessons in the Universal Robots Cobot Programming with PolyScope course?
The creators named in the Credits block at the foot of this page, on their own YouTube channels. EDWartens did not make the videos and the creators are not affiliated with EDWartens. What EDWartens wrote is the study plan, the notes, the practice tasks and the assessments.
How long does the Universal Robots Cobot Programming with PolyScope course take?
Plan on about 10 hours in all, including the video lessons, notes and practice tasks. It is self-paced, so you work through the eleven modules at your own speed.
Do I have to use the lab?
No. The lab is optional practice. You can skip it whenever you like, and it never blocks your progress, the final assessment or your certificate.
Is the lab free?
Yes. Every lab level for this course opens in your browser, free, with nothing to install.
What topics does the Universal Robots Cobot Programming with PolyScope course cover, module by module?
The Universal Robots Cobot Programming with PolyScope course has 11 modules. It opens with "Cobots and the UR Family", goes through "Tool Configuration: TCP, Orientation and Payload", "Pick, Place and Palletising", "Simulator, Updates and Maintenance" and "Applications: Machine Tending, Vision and CNC" and ends with "Final Assessment". The full list with minutes is under "What you learn" on this page.
What can I do after the Universal Robots Cobot Programming with PolyScope course?
After the Universal Robots Cobot Programming with PolyScope course: Set up a UR cobot and run a risk assessment; Configure TCP, payload and the safety planes and limits; Write PolyScope programs with waypoints, subprograms, force and blends. These are the practical outcomes the course is written around, and the final assessment of 15 questions checks them.
What software and hardware do I need for the Universal Robots Cobot Programming with PolyScope course, and does it cost anything?
For the Universal Robots Cobot Programming with PolyScope course, software: URSim offline simulator (free) and PolyScope. Hardware: none required. Any UR e-Series or CB-series arm makes the safety and I/O modules real. The course itself is free.
Is the Universal Robots Cobot Programming with PolyScope course suitable for me, and what level is it?
Universal Robots Cobot Programming with PolyScope is rated beginner. Beginner to intermediate. Basic PLC or robot awareness helps. It is written for engineering students, apprentices, technicians and working engineers in manufacturing and robotics, and takes about 10.2 hours at your own pace.
Which jobs use the skills from the Universal Robots Cobot Programming with PolyScope course?
Skills from the Universal Robots Cobot Programming with PolyScope course (for example: set up a UR cobot and run a risk assessment) are used in roles such as robot programmer, automation engineer, cell integrator and maintenance technician, and in robotics engineer work. The course gives you practical evidence of the skill; it does not promise a job, and employers decide on experience and interview.
Start free today
Universal Robots Cobot Programming with PolyScope, at your own pace. Add the certificate only if you want one.