Yesterday, at the RoboBusiness Conference and Exposition in Pittsburgh, Microsoft released the first community technology preview (CTP) of Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio 2008, the new version of its robotics programming platform.

Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio 2008 contains improvements in its runtime performance, distributed computational capabilities and tools.

Scheduled for release later this year, the first preview of the product is now available for evaluation and testing by developers, customers and partners. Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio 2008 is a Windows-based environment that can be used by academic, hobbyist and commercial developers for the creation of a variety of robotic programs and testing scenarios.

“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,” said Tandy Trower, general manager of the Microsoft Robotics Group. “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.”

Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio 2008 promises to bring performance improvements of 150 percent to 300 percent in message throughput between services within a node and between DSS nodes. It also brings 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.

Another new feature is 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.

Microsoft also announced that RoboChamps, a virtual robotics competition built atop Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio 2008, will be launched on April 21 at http://www.robochamps.com. RoboChamps was developed in conjunction with members of the partner community, including SimplySim, whose simulation environments are used in the competition.

“RoboChamps will allow users of all levels to experiment with Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio 2008, while discovering the underlying technologies and solving real-world problems with simulated robots in immersive 3-D environments,” said Nicolas Dalmasso, CEO of SimplySim.

Microsoft Robotics Studio and Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio 2008 are available as a free download for use in noncommercial applications.