News: Microsoft & Robotics

http://www.robobusiness2006.com/rb2006_pr11_5_26_2006.htm

“Microsoft views robotics as an exciting new market poised for growth,” said Tandy Trower, general manager at Microsoft Corp. “As a premier business development event in intelligent systems and mobiles robotics, the RoboBusiness Conference and Exposition is a great venue for Microsoft to talk about the emerging robotics market.”

Microsoft Robotics Initiative: A Technical Introduction
Joseph Fernando, Architect & Program Manager, Microsoft
Tuesday June 20th 2-4pm
This session, featuring presentations from Microsoft and early-adopter third-party companies, will provide a technical introduction to Microsoft’s technologies and how they can be used to develop robotics applications. It is geared to both programmers and non-programmers who wish to gain insight into how Microsoft can make developing robotic applications easier.

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http://www.cmu.edu/PR/releases06/060620_cir.html

PITTSBURGH—Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute are creating the new Center for Innovative Robotics, a resource that will help make robotics accessible to a broader range of individuals and businesses.

"One of the goals of the center will be to promote interoperability between many types of robots and a variety of software, including use of the Internet for controlling robots," said Illah Nourbakhsh, associate professor of robotics and director of the new center.
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The center, established with financial support from the Microsoft Robotics Group, will operate a Web site, www.cir.ri.cmu.edu, where academics, students, commercial inventors and enthusiasts can share the ideas, technologies and software that are critical to robot development. It will utilize Microsoft's new Robotics Studio, a set of software tools designed to easily create robotics applications across a wide variety of hardware and scenarios. For more information on Microsoft Robotics Studio, see msdn.microsoft.com/robotics.

"Microsoft is proud to help Carnegie Mellon establish this new center and online community," said Tandy Trower, general manager of the Microsoft Robotics Group. "Carnegie Mellon's new Center for Innovative Robotics, together with the launch of our new Robotics Studio development environment, will help broaden the reach of robotics for hobbyists, students and professors, as well as commercial developers, across a wide variety of hardware and scenarios."