For more information on Braintech’s use of Microsoft’s Robotics Studio, go to http://www.braintech.com/volts-iq. The company has prepared a short video demonstrating VOLTS-IQ guidance technologies allowing an autonomous robot to find, and then water household plants. The application was developed using MSRS and is an example of the power and usefulness of vision guidance. For individuals and companies interested in developing mobile robotic appliances using VOLTS-IQ and MSRS, please contact Braintech, ().
Owen Jones, Braintech’s CEO says, “For the past decade we’ve researched, developed and deployed state-of-art vision technologies allowing industrial robots to see and react intelligently. Over this time, we have amassed unique and valuable expertise in the field of 3D robotic vision and chose to partner with ABB, (NYSE: ABB) in the automotive/industrial robotics markets. Now, as part of MSRSPP we want to make available, to device builders targeting the consumer robotics market as well as hobbyists and academics, our vision-based guidance and tracking technologies”
Jones furthers states, “Microsoft is uniquely capable of bringing robotics to the mass markets by making available, on a standard software platform, best of breed robotics technologies. Major appliance manufactures, hobbyists and academics will have at their disposal, all the robotic research and development of the last decade packaged into a commercial software development studio. As a result, I expect an explosion of new consumer oriented businesses and products through 2008”.
Joseph Fernando, Microsoft’s Architect & Program Manager for Robotics states, “Vision is an essential component of virtually every imaginable useful or interesting robotic product. Without the ability to see, robotic products can’t react intelligently to the events, objects or people around them and remain simple motion playback machines capable of only simple behaviors. Braintech has shown the ability to build unique technologies in this area and perhaps more importantly, the ability to turn these technologies into commercial grade products. We feel that Braintech has a unique blend of technological and productization expertise and is well positioned to supply key vision technologies for the emerging consumer robotics market. We are glad that Braintech sees the strategic value in MSRS and has decided to join the partnership program. This program gives us an effective means to support companies like Braintech and help them bring their expertise and technologies to the robotics community at large within the unified MSRS platform.”
Microsoft Robotics Studio environment is an end-to-end, scalable and extensible robotics development platform that supports a wide variety of hardware. The development environment supports a wide range of programming languages, and includes a new visual programming language, which enables non-programmers to create and debug robotics programs very easily. Microsoft Robotics Studio includes a powerful physics-based simulation environment that lets developers simulate robotics applications in realistic 3D physics-based virtual environments. The lightweight services-oriented runtime supports the execution of concurrent and distributed robotic applications.
Contact
Braintech
Owen Jones
Braintech Inc.
#102 - 930 W 1st Street
Vancouver BC
V7P 3N4
P: 604-988-6440 x 202
E:
Microsoft Robotics Studio
Doreen O’Skea
Waggener Edstrom
P: (503) 443-7000
E:
Rapid Response Team
Waggener Edstrom Worldwide
P: (503) 443-7070
E:
About Microsoft Robot Studio - http://www.microsoft.com/robotics.
About ABB Robotics Division http://www.abb.com/robotics.
About Braintech Inc. - http://www.braintech.com/volts-iq.
Microsoft is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corporation, Robot Studio is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation, VOLTS-IQ is a trademark of Braintech, Inc.