Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio 4 Beta Project - Party Photographer Eddie Robot

Microsoft recently released the Robotics Developer Studio 4 (RDS-4) Beta version. RDS4 beta has support from the Kinect sensor. It is developed to bring ease to the robotics enthusiasts in development for both personal & consumer domains. It can be used for hardware as well as simulation.



Greg Shirakyan, a developer on the Microsoft Robotics team built a robot that can be used as a substitute for photographers at parties or events. The robot roams about, sees in 3D using the Microsoft Kinect™ thereby finding engaging people by detecting them using Kinect Skeletal Tracking and takes their pictures, which can be then uploaded to Flickr. Anybody who has access to free RDS4, Kinect and reference platform (Eddie aka Expandable Development Discs for Innovation and Experimentation) can develop applications similar to this robot.

Eddie Robot Platform features are:
<ul>
[*]Compatible with Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio 4 (RDS4)
[*]Dual-platform design with plenty of room for electronics and on-the-go programming laptop access
[*]Two drive wheels with high-torque 12 VDC motors and position controllers
[*]Front and rear dual-tire caster wheels for platform stability
[*]Durable pneumatic rubber tires easily traverse hard floors and carpet
[*]Five distance sensors (three infrared and two ultrasonic) for collision avoidance
[*]Fully integrated control board handles all lower-level hardware operations to drive motors and collect sensor data
[*]Simple USB connectivity between control board and your laptop
[*]12 V, 14.4Ah gel-cell batteries for 4–7 hours of continuous operation
</ul>
Mr. Shirakyan describes the hardware and software that makes this work in the following video. Check it out -

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That was Kinect put to some good use.

You can download Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio 4 Beta here. You may also participate in the #-Link-Snipped-# Competition which ends on 30th November, 2011.