Microsoft Updates Robotics Development Tools

April 10, 2008

Microsoft has unveiled the first community technology preview of Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio 2008, the latest version of its Windows-based robotics programming platform environment designed for use by academic, hobbyist and commercial developers for the creation of robotic programs and testing scenarios.

The new offering improves upon runtime performance, distributed computational capabilities and tools.

While the Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio will only be released later this year, the first preview is available now for evaluation and testing by developers, customers, and partners.

According to the release, here’s what’s new:

Increased runtime performance. Performance improvements of 150 percent to 300 percent in message throughput between services within a node and between DSS nodes. Services now load 200 percent faster.
Improved distributed computational capabilities. Support for distributed language integrated queries (LINQ), which reduces network utilization and simplifies service authoring. LINQ support enables advanced filtering and inline processing of sensor data at the source.
Improvements to tools. The ability to visually define computational domains within the Microsoft Visual Programming Language (VPL) tool, providing for easier accessibility to managing distributed execution. The Visual Simulation Environment (VSE) tool adds the ability to record and play back simulations, which allows for easier sharing of running simulation experiences. In addition, VSE adds a new floorplan editor to simplify the definition of complicated structures and interiors.