Skip to main content

Some NXT relevant cites from the Microsoft Robotics Studio Newsgroup

By
The newsgroup for the Microsoft Robotics Studio is up and running now for some days and the Microsoft guys have become creditably responsive on questions, hence I consider it worthwhile to abstract some statements made there in respect to NXT support.
For details please refer to the newsgroup in question itself (which is a advicable place to visit anyway for anybody interested in the Robotics Studio).

As to Studio services not running on the NXT hardware

[...] in the case of the NXT, if you want to create an application with our development tools you do require a PC with the NXT and [...] we do not currently support code development and deployment on the NXT hardware. This is the approach that we discussed with LEGO and they agreed would be the best way to start.
(tandyt,06/29/2006)

[...] rather than assuming that all your processsing horsepower is limited to a single compute unit, it can be spread across multiple processors. [...]I believe that our future will not be of isolated robots doing multiple functions, but sets of specialized robots that are coordinated (or maybe both).
(tandyt,06/29/2006)

What would be required is to port our runtime (probably subset) to run on the native firmware (or replace the firmware with something like Windows CE).
[...] this could probably be done by a third party, but probably requires
some technical information/support from LEGO and Microsoft. Generally we
would expect a hardware vendor to provide this with support from us [...]
We need to talk further with the folks at LEGO because creating something that would natively compile and execute would compete with what they are supplying.
(tandyt,06/29/2006)

Features planned for upcoming releases

[...] we are working on a program to run on the NXT which will properly inform our services of sensor events.
(Ben Axelrod, 06/27/2006)

We can also give you a nice debugging environment for your custom code that you can download on the NXT, plus a UI to monitor your NXT when its roaming
around.
(George Chrysanthakopoulos, 07/03/2006)

Bluetooth communication from NXT to PC] is definately possible and its exactly we will be showing with our next set of LegoNXT services and tutorial.
(Ben Axelrod, 06/27/2006)

[...] we do plan in our next release to give you a lot more "standalone code" that runs on the NXT and communicates with MSRS services on the PC.
(George Chrysanthakopoulos, 07/03/2006)

Pricing model (will Robotics Studio be available for free in the future also?)

[...] we haven't announced final licensing yet. The preview is free for all to use. Like our VS folks we prefer to evaluate the response to the preview before we lock things down. Further, we do understand the state of the industry and the community
and believe that at the present time it is not likely to generate large
revenues yet and to help the industry bootstrap itself it must be affordable
to a large audience. So we are evaluating how best to do that which still
makes good business sense and while I won't make a commitment at this point,
the model our VS people have adopted about having a free subset and a
moderately priced commerial offering is attractive.
(tandyt,06/29/2006)

Popular posts from this blog

Celebrating 25 Years of MINDSTORMS

By Asha Seshan - ROBOTMAK3R
In celebration of the 25th Anniversary of MINDSTORMS, we take a trip through history. Please also visit ROBOTMAK3RS Community every week as we highlight different projects all through 2023 in celebration of the anniversary. Some of the early history is based on the content shared by  Coder Shah  in our  MINDSTORMS EV3 Community Group . Some of the text and links may have been edited from his original posts for consistency and clarity.  1984 - Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen watched a TV program called "Talking Turtle," where MIT professor Seymour Papert demonstrated how children could control robot "turtles" using LOGO, a programming language he developed. 1988 - The collaboration between MIT and LEGO resulted in LEGO TC Logo in 1988, which allowed students to control LEGO models using computer commands. The video shows Papert demonstrating TC Logo. 1990 - LEGO TC Logo was hampered since the robots you built had to be tethered to a personal computer. LEGO and MIT...
Read more

ROBOTMAK3RS Review: LEGO River Steamboat

By Asha Seshan - ROBOTMAK3R
I thought the LEGO River Steamboat would be an interesting set for a ROBOTMAK3R review for a few reasons. First, the LEGO designer of the model is Marina Stampoli, a long-time collaborator of the late ROBOTMAK3R Vassilis Chryssanthakopoulo s. From earlier collaborations with Vassilis, I  knew Marina was incredibly talented, with an eye for aesthetics and functionality. Her background in architecture is particularly useful for her relatively new position at LEGO. Her other sets include the Magic of Disney (21352), Message Board (41839), and Red London Telephone Box (21347). Second, watching Marina's reveal video  and reading her designer interview made this set even more tempting to build. The gearing mechanisms running through the model gave way to many opportunities for automation using LEGO robotics elements. Since ROBOTMAK3RS is all about adding interactivity and automation to LEGO brick, I thought it would be fun to see where and how LEGO robotics could be added to this s...
Read more

Ghostbusters R.T.V Remix

By Asha Seshan - ROBOTMAK3R
Nino Guba is from Torrance, California, USA. He played with LEGO as a kid, but growing up in the Philippines, it wasn’t something he had easy access to. He only got reintroduced to LEGO when he moved to the US and had kids of his own. When his sons were younger, they received LEGO sets as gifts, but as they grew older, the sets got put into storage as their interest faded. Fast forward a few years, he started coming up with his own product ideas and thought about how he could quickly prototype them. That’s when he discovered LEGO MINDSTORMS—and was hooked! He raided his kids’ old collection, got everything organized, and now he's designing and building his own creations, blending his coding skills with LEGO robotics to bring ideas to life. Tell us about your Ghostbusters Remote Trap Vehicle (R.T.V) project. This project is a LEGO Technic adaptation of the Ghostbusters R.T.V.—a ghost trap converted into a remote-controlled vehicle. Its companion build is a prop replica of the Futaba...
Read more