Microsoft does Robotics
 

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,1895,1978565,00.asp

It was only a matter of time... Has anyone looked at the beta?

Re: Microsoft does Robotics
 

You know microsoft dosent stand a chance against first... because some day we will take over the world.... not the robot of bill gates... but that dose look very intreasting none the less

Re: Microsoft does Robotics
 

I find it funny that the person who is the general manager for Microsoft's Robotics Initiative name is Tandy.

Shouldn't he be working for Radio Shack, and not Microsoft? :rolleyes: :p

Re: Microsoft does Robotics
 

It looks really interesting. A lot of companies are trying to achieve FIRST's goal.
One main factor is trying to make kits that are not expensive and easy to use.

Re: Microsoft does Robotics
 

I'll wait until they actually show me a kit before I decide if this will be any good. I don't know though, Microsoft and robot kits...?

I like their idea of some more standardized robot systems. It'd be nice to easily mix multiple robot kits/pieces together into one "super" robot.

Re: Microsoft does Robotics
 

Hey, we've been doing okay so far :p

Re: Microsoft does Robotics
 

I dont see any mention of kits in the news release. They are only taking about an operating system, not hardware.

Personally I cant imagine any real time system with mechanical components running on Microsoft based SW. How does the old joke go? If Microsoft built cars then.... ?

Re: Microsoft does Robotics
 

When it was introduced in 1991, I wonder how many people thought that Visual Basic would become the defacto standard office automation language and that by now supposedly over 50% of all programmers would use it?

According to an article I saw:
...others, not just Microsoft, will be able to offer software development tools for use with the underlying Microsoft Robotics Studio system. And while the system will run on Windows, it can be used to create programs for all types of robots, not just those using the Microsoft operating system, Trower said.

Maybe even ones using Microchip controllers...

Re: Microsoft does Robotics
 

That would certainly make code transfers easier.

Re: Microsoft does Robotics
 

This is not a robotics kit. MRS (Microsoft Robotics Studio) is an SDK that allows robot programmers to create and manage code for robots.

Here's a good video showing some of the features of the Microsoft Robotics SDK.

http://channel9.msdn.com/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=206574

Re: Microsoft does Robotics
 

While a universal platform is a good goal, isn't the differences between controllers where their power comes from?

I'm watching that hour-long intro.

Within the first 10 minutes:

• It's sounding like a good way to introduce hard-to-find bugs: deadlocks, race conditions, and any other concurrent bugs
• Managed code = .NET; if it has the performance of .NET 2.0, I'm not touching this.
• Simulator = lots of work while every team creates a realistic, accurate, high-res model of their robot
• JScript, VBScript = I'm thinking running Microsoft OS (likely based on NT) on your robot

Did we mention that our current processor runs only at 20MHz? (Compared to the current 4000 MHz.)

Of course, it could be that it compiles to .NET (CLR) and converts that to the local machine language. (Much like JIT compiling.) Maybe this is an effort by Mircrosoft to show the versatility of .NET.

Nice lawnmower, though. (The coffee maker is a LIDAR unit, BTW.)

I'm willing to bet that this is going to be about as useful to us as CoreChart (that graphical assembler).

EDIT: At about 16:03, notice the Windows Live logo.

Re: Microsoft does Robotics
 

So I finished that intro. Here's what I noticed.

• Windows logo on NXT :ahh:
• IE required (no Gecko goodness)
• Jumping boxes in simulator
• Requirements of a PC to run this
• This does fulfil some of my goals for FURC
• The 1 female shows up in the last 8 minutes and is only around for 4 (in an 58 minute introduction)
• Not a single CMUCam, but plenty of LIDAR boxes. (And guess which is cheaper)
• Can handle many platforms of robots, but only 1 platform of PC
• .NET through and through
• A PC required???

"2 lines" to express lots of complex information. Sounds like a good way to overload one's brain.

How many times will you hear "Oh. I guess the simulation was wrong."?

Much like CoreChart, this has potential but the jury's still out.

Re: Microsoft does Robotics
 

Microsoft has set up a blog for the devolpment of the program,

http://blogs.msdn.com/microsoft_robo...o/default.aspx

Re: Microsoft does Robotics
 

BusinessWeek recently had an article on the Microsoft Robotics Studio.

I'm in the process of downloading the beta version of it, and I'll post more later. I'm a bit skeptical about Microsoft creating this robotics programming software, but I'll give it a shot...

Re: Microsoft does Robotics
 

This is funny:

www.theinquirer.net/default.aspx?article=32845

Especially read the last 2 lines.