Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio (MRDS) offers an exciting new wayto program robots in the Windows environment. With key portions of theMRDS code available in source form, it is readily extensible and offersnumerous opportunities for programmers and hobbyists. This comprehensivebook illustrates creative ways to use the tools and libraries in MRDS so you can start building innovative new robotics applications.

The book begins with a brief overview of MRDS and then launches into MRDSconcepts and takes a look at fundamental code patterns that can be used in MRDS programming. You'll work through examples all in C# of common tasks, including an examination of the physics features of the MRDS simulator. As the chapters progress, so does the level of difficulty and you'll gradually evolve from navigating a simple robot around a simulated course to controlling simulated and actual robotic arms, and finally, to an autonomous robot that runs with an embedded PC or PDA.

What you will learn from this book

• How to program in the multi-threaded environment provided by the concurrency and coordination runtime

  • Suggestions for starting and stopping services, configuring services, and packaging your services for deployment

    • Techniques for building new services from scratch and then testing them

      • How to build your own simulated environments and robots using the Visual Simulation Environment

        • What robots are supported under MRDS and how to select one for purchase

          Who this book is for
          This book is for programmers who are interested in becoming proficient in the rapidly growing field of robotics. All examples featured in the book are in C#, which is the preferred language for MRDS.

          Wrox Professional guides are planned and written by working programmers to meet the real-world needs of programmers, developers, and IT professionals. Focused and relevant, they address the issues technology professionals face every day. They provide examples, practical solutions, and expert education in new technologies, all designed to help programmers do a better job.

Trevor Taylor is a consultant in the field of robotics education. After 20 years in the IT industry, including co - founding a consulting company that became a Microsoft Solution Provider Partner, he moved to the Queensland University of Technology in 2002. For six years he taught a variety of subjects, including Visual Basic and Web development using ASP.NET. During this period he also worked part - time on a doctorate in computer vision and robotics. In early 2008, Trevor left QUT to concentrate on developing course materials for teaching robotics and to finish writing his thesis. Trevor has worked with MRDS since the very first Community Technology Preview in June 2006 and is an active and well - known contributor to the community.