Up until this point, much has been covered about the basics of Microsoft Robotics Studio (MSRS) and the tools it supplies. It was necessary to do this for you to understand all that is possible with MSRS. This chapter will dive down deep into the code and look at what you need to do to operate your robot. In this chapter, we will focus on creating a Decentralized Software Services (DSS) service for the iRobot Create robot. We will use drive services included with MSRS to operate the robot. The service that we create will receive notifications whenever the motor is enabled or the bumper is pressed.
The iRobot Create (see Figure 5-1) is a fully assembled robot that is designed for use by educators and robotics hobbyists. It is based on the popular vacuuming robot: the Roomba by iRobot. For more information about the Roomba and iRobot, see the following URL: http://store.irobot.com. To view a list of the available Roomba models, click on the Robots link, and then click Vacuum Cleaning.
Figure 5-1. The iRobot Create is a fully assembled robot designed for programmers interested in working with robots.
The Create does not vacuum your floors, but it does offer more options for expansion. For example, MSRS developers added cameras to multiple Create robots and used them to compete in a sumo robot competition at the 2007 Microsoft Mobile and Embedded DevCon (MEDC) conference. For more information on the Create robot and how to purchase one, go to the iRobot store Web site (http://store.irobot.com), click the Robots link, and then click Programmable.
Note
You can get information on how to assemble your own sumo bot by going to the MSDN Web site at http://msdn.microsoft.com and searching the phrase "sumo robot assembly instructions." Additionally, the MSRS Web site includes a simulation that represents the sumo bot competition. You can download this simulation by going to the Microsoft Download Center Web site at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads and searching the phrase "sumo competition."
The nice thing about using the Create is that no assembly is required, unless you want to add sensors beyond the 32 already available. You will need to do some configuration (refer to the section titled Configuring the iRobot Create in Appendix B), but it is relatively minor compared with some of the other supported robots. This makes it a good hardware platform for students who are interested in learning about programming robotics applications but not about the actual hardware itself.
Tip
In September 2007, MSRS released a set of tutorials that use the Create robot with Visual Programming Language (VPL) applications to demonstrate programming techniques. You can download these tutorials by going to the Microsoft Download Center at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads and searching the words "introductory courseware robotics."
It is just this type of instant accessibility that makes pre-assembled robots like the Create of interest to organizations like the Institute for Personal Robots in Education (IPRE). (See the sidebar titled Profile: Institute for Personal Robots in Education.) Although the IPRE does not use the Create, it does use a smaller, pre-assembled robot named the Scribbler to teach computer science concepts.
Profile: Institute for Personal Robots in Education
The Institute for Personal Robots (IPRE) was founded by Georgia Tech and Bryn Mawr College (see http://www.ipre.org). The institute seeks to take away the complexity of robotics and introduce the field to a wider audience. One way it does this is through the use of simple hardware and software platforms. The institute uses a pre-assembled robot made by Parallax named Scribbler. Along with a simple programming language named MyRobotics (MyRo), the Scribbler can be used to teach students basic computer science concepts in a fun and approachable way.
Microsoft Research sponsors IPRE and has invested more than $1 million in the institute. The final implementation of the IPRE’s software utilizes MSRS to broaden the number of languages and robots available to students. IPRE Fellow Ben Axelrod (refer to the sidebar titled Profile: Ben Axelrod in Chapter 4) has taken steps toward this goal by designing MSRS services for the Scribbler robot within the IPRE framework. For more information about IPRE, refer to the Annual Report through the following URL: http://www.roboteducation.org/Files/2007-AnnualReport.pdf.