Table of Contents
- Overview
- Features
- Lightweight asynchronous services-oriented runtime
- Visual Programming Language (VPL)
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Robotics Developer Studio 4
Table of Contents
Overview
There has been tremendous excitement with Microsoft Kinect within the robotics space signaling the potential opportunities that exist in transforming robots to low-cost mainstream consumer devices. Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio (RDS4), with support from the Kinect sensor, aims to make it easier for developers to build applications, including those directed at personal robotics and consumer scenarios, both in hardware and in simulation.
- With RDS4 simulation tools, you don’t need physical hardware to develop a Kinect-based robot!
- For hardware design, Microsoft has published the Robotics Developer Studio: Reference Platform Design specification for a standardized Kinect-based robot, to work with RDS4. Parallax, Inc has manufactured a hardware kit based on the reference platform design specification which, is available for pre-order now.
- RDS4 also adds support for Microsoft .NET Framework 4, XNA Game Studio 4.0, and Visual Studio 2010.
To download Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio 4 beta (RDS4 beta), click here.
Features
Lightweight asynchronous services-oriented runtime
Concurrency and Coordination Runtime (CCR) helps make it easier to handle asynchronous input and output by eliminating the conventional complexities of manual threading, locks, and semaphores. Lightweight state-oriented Decentralized Software Services (DSS) framework enables you to create program modules that can interoperate on a robot and connected PCs by using a relatively simple, open protocol.
Visual Programming Language (VPL)
Visual Programming Language (VPL) provides a relatively simple drag-and-drop visual programming language tool that helps make it easy to create robotics applications. VPL also provides the ability to take a collection of connected blocks and reuse them as a single block elsewhere in your program. VPL is also capable of generating human-readable C#.
DSS Manifest Editor (DSSME)
DSS Manifest Editor (DSSME) provides a relatively simple creation of application configuration and distribution scenarios.
DSS Log Analyzer
The DSS Log Analyzer tool allows you to view message flows across multiple DSS services. DSS Log Analyzer also allows you to inspect message details.
Visual Simulation Environment (VSE)
Visual Simulation Environment (VSE) provides the ability to simulate and test robotic applications using a 3D physics-based simulation tool. This allows developers to create robotics applications without the hardware. Sample simulation models and environments enable you to test your application in a variety of 3D virtual environments.
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