This section lists the hardware and software requirements needed to work with MSRS and the sample code provided with this book.
It is recommended that you use a development machine such as a laptop or desktop computer. The minimum requirements for this development machine are as follows:
Personal computer with 600 MHz Pentium III–compatible processor (1 GHz or more recommended)
512 MB of RAM (1GB or more recommended)
200 MB free hard disk space for the MSRS installation
Up to 1.3 GB free hard disk space may be required when installing the Visual Studio Express Edition
Super VGA (1024 X 768) or higher resolution video adapter and monitor
Internal graphics card capable of supporting vertex shader VS_2_0 or higher and pixel shader PS_2_0 or higher (needed to run the simulations in Chapter 4)
Keyboard and Microsoft mouse or compatible pointing device
You will need to install the full version of MSRS, which is available for download from the Microsoft Web site. As long as you use MSRS to follow along with the examples in this book and do not use it for commercial distribution purposes, you may download and install it for free. You will also need a copy of Visual Studio installed on your development machine. If you do not already have a copy installed, you can download an Express Edition from the Microsoft Web site for free.
Browse to the MSRS download Web page using Internet Explorer. The download Web page is available through the following URL: http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/robotics/aa731520.aspx.
Click the Microsoft Robotics Studio (1.5) link. When prompted, save the setup executable to an area on your local hard drive.
Click the Samples Update for Microsoft Robotics Studio (1.5) link and save the zip file to an area on your local hard drive.
Double-click the Microsoft Robotics Studio (1.5) setup launcher file to begin the installation. You need to complete this installation before you can install the samples update.
Wait while InstallShield wizard inspects your machine and extracts any setup files. If previous installations exist on the machine, the MSRS help file for the previous version will be uninstalled.
The installation will take several minutes to complete; the exact time will vary depending on the speed of your machine. The MSRS installation will install the correct version of the .NET Framework and the AGEIA PhysX engine, which is needed for the simulation environment.
After the MSRS installation is complete, unzip the samples update file to a folder on your hard drive. Double-click the application executable and follow the instructions to complete installation of the samples update.
Browse to http://www.microsoft.com/express/2005/download/default.aspx using Internet Explorer and select a language from the Visual C# 2005 Express Edition download box.
Browse to a location on your hard drive in which to download the vcssetup application file.
Double-click the setup file and wait until the installation copies the required setup files to your hard drive. When it is complete, click Next to continue the installation.
Select the I Accept The Licensing Terms And Conditions check box and click Next to continue the installation.
Optionally, you can choose to install the MSDN 2005 Express Edition. Click Next to continue the installation.
Click Install to begin the installation, which will take several minutes to complete. The exact time will vary depending on the speed of your development machine.
Return to the download page (http://www.microsoft.com/express/2005/download/default.aspx) and select the Download Visual C# 2005 Express SP1 link.
Copy the setup executable to an area on your local hard drive.
Double-click the executable and follow the instructions to complete installation of the service pack.