New Windows-Based Robotics Platform from Microsoft

Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio 2008 is the Redmond company's new iteration of its robotics programming platform. The RoboBusiness Conference and Exposition in Pittsburgh is the stage where Microsoft unveiled the next step in the evolution of the Windows-based environment. The community technology preview of Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio 2008 is designed to permit evaluation and testing before the final product will ship.

"We launched Microsoft Robotics Studio in 2006 in response to the robotics community’s request for a mature platform and toolset that would provide for stability and portability, allowing more people to participate and contribute. Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio 2008 demonstrates Microsoft’s continued commitment to help catalyze the emerging new markets for robotics by delivering even better performance and enhanced tools," revealed Tandy Trower, general manager of the Microsoft Robotics Group.

Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio 2008 is currently planned for availability in by the end of this year, but the company failed to pin point a deadline. The toolkit is delivered as a free download as long as it is used for building noncommercial products. Microsoft applauded in excess of 200,000 downloads of previous versions of the platform as a sign of the success the robotics toolkit enjoyed among developers. The new version of platform brings to the table a number of enhancements such as boosted runtime performance, added distributed computational capabilities and upgrades to components and tools.

"A persistent challenge for the robotics industry up till now has been the limited choice within development platforms that would allow developers to easily create robotic applications," said Bruno Maisonnier, president and founder of Aldebaran Robotics. "Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio 2008 will contribute greatly to expand the robotics industry and encourage more developers to design new robot applications. We are pleased to support these efforts."

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