14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio 2008 R2 is currently available for download from Microsoft. According to the Redmond company, the Robotics Developer Studio 2008 R2 is designed as an upgrade to existing robotic platform, namely the plain vanilla Robotics Developer Studio 2008. In this sense, developers leveraging the solution in order to build robotics applications will need the Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio 2008, and will have to deploy Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio 2008 R2 on top. The upgrade brings to the table a few new features, including software quality metrics; DSS Log Analyzer and the Visual Simulation Environment.
“The DSS Log Analyzer originally appeared in a Community Technology Preview. It is now available in RDS 2008 R2 (all Editions). The Log Analyzer shows you graphically the message traffic between services in the Services View. It can be used [to] filter the messages, and zoom in on particular message in the Time Line View to examine its contents. Temporal relationships between messages are clearly shown in the Causality View,” revealed Trevor Taylor, program manager, Microsoft Applied Robotics Solutions.
There are three editions of Robotics Developer Studio 2008 R2 available to developers. Microsoft is offering a free flavor of its robotics platform, namely the Express Edition. Also free is the Academic Edition, which can be obtained via DreamSpark or MSDNAA. In addition, the company is also delivering the Standard Edition of Robotics Developer Studio 2008 R2 for MSDN Subscribers Downloads or through BizSpark.
“One of the new features of RDS is Software Quality Metrics (SQM). This is a tool that is used in many Microsoft products to monitor usage patterns and send the data back to Microsoft. The data is then used for planning and the development of new product features. No personal details are sent to Microsoft,” Taylor added. “You can elect to participate in the SQM program during installation and we encourage you to do so. If you change your mind at a later date, there is an Update and Feedback Options item in the Start Menu that allows you to opt in or out at any time.”
With the advent of Robotics Developer Studio 2008 R2, Microsoft enhanced the platform with the addition of a Visual Simulation Environment. Developers can now use new simulated sensors that the company has introduced to the simulation environment, including: sonar, light (brightness), color, compass, infrared range and GPS.
Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio 2008 R2 Standard Edition and Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio 2008 R2 Express Edition are available for download here.