Microsoft Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio Pricing & Product Details

Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio (MSRS) is a powerful toolkit released by Microsoft Research, designed to build service-based applications for a wide range of hardware devices. Despite its name, it is not limited to playing with robots; it offers a service-oriented runtime and visual authoring tools, making it applicable to various industries beyond robotics.

One standout feature of MSRS is its service-oriented runtime, composed of two lower-level runtimes: Decentralized Software Services (DSS) and Coordination and Concurrency Runtime (CCR). DSS is based on the REST principles, commonly used to power the Web, enabling lightweight and efficient communication between services. CCR, on the other hand, is a Microsoft .NET Framework library supporting asynchronous processing, crucial for handling continuous data flow in robotics applications.

MSRS provides visual authoring tools, tutorials, and documentation, making it beginner-friendly for developers new to robotics. Hobbyists and academic researchers can freely download and use MSRS, while commercial developers can purchase the toolkit for a small fee. The inclusion of a Visual Programming Language (VPL) tool and Visual Simulation Environment (VSE) further simplifies the development process, making it accessible to a wide range of users interested in creating robotics-based applications.