Robots, once relegated to isolated work cells on the factory floor, will soon be breaking out of their simplistic pick-and-place tasks to become a more integral part of the assembly line. They also will be morphing into smaller, more flexible versions that will find their way into new industrial applications in the field. Case in point: KUKA Robotics (Clinton Township, MI) has designed a caterpillar-like, lightweight robot with 14 axis points that can be controlled with a joystick. While just a prototype, it has potential for use in the mining industry to change out bolts on a grinder used to dig tunnels. Another company, CoroWare Inc. (Bellevue, WA), created a mobile robot with RFID sensors and a camera that can be used to patrol high-security premises. And Robosoft SA (Bidart, France) recently demonstrated a six-wheeled, autonomous robot capable of navigating rough terrain. These three companies created cutting-edge, mobile robots for use in industrial and homeland security applications. But the best part, they say, is that they are easy to create, easy to use, and flexible. And at the center of all this robot rejuvenation is not any one of these vendors, or even an industrial automation company; it's Microsoft Corp. In June, the software giant announced that it would enter the robot market with a Windows-based application development environment called Microsoft Robotics Studio. Currently involved in a technology preview are partners such as KUKA Robotics, CoroWare, Robosoft, and ABB Inc. -- which is also participating in a beta program to provide feedback on features and functionality, but has not created a product prototype yet. Nevertheless, when Robotics Studio rolls out in commercial release at the end of the year, major new opportunities for robotics will arise in manufacturing. The main shift is in the move to a pervasive development platform rather than the proprietary systems that have driven industrial robotics designs to date. "It allows industrial automation companies to create the ecosystem required to get the robot up and running," says Tandy Trower, general manager of the Microsoft Robotics Group. "They see the opportunity to enter new markets because we are laying the groundwork so that they don't have to have the plumbing layer in place." Built around Windows XP and .NET, Robotics Studio includes a library of code that can be turned into service calls. It is analogous to, say, a device driver in Windows, Trower explains, and can be as simple or as complex as needed. "It means every part of a robot can be considered a little Web server," Trower says. "That means you can point a browser at it and easily get the state of the robot or sensor systems to set the value for these components." This removes the burden of time associated with writing robot code. "Typically, developers create software libraries for the robot and write their own function calls or object libraries with all of the parameters that go into it," explains Lloyd Spencer, president and CEO of CoroWare. "Microsoft generalizes some of these things... and brings order to the chaos." Working in the Community The basics of the robot world haven't changed much over the years. A robot is a combination of motors, sensors, and CPUs, whether it is a small, mobile robot or a large, articulated arm. Parts get smaller, processors get faster, but the innovation that will most impact these mechanical worker bees is software. Microsoft brings the idea of distributed code to the table, a result of a service-oriented architecture (SOA). That means there is not a lone controlling piece of software, but rather a peer-to-peer environment. "The idea of robots running in isolation is a limiting scenario," says Microsoft's Trower. "It says you can only do as much as you can cram on the robot. The robot scenario of the future is the idea of networked devices communicating and code controlling the robot that runs somewhere else." After all, robots, Trower says, are really just a collection of technologies that must work in cooperation. Robotics Studio is designed around that model, and application programmers can tap into its simple interface to put the processing where it is needed most. Even if it is a small sensor with limited processing capability, an application can be written to enable interaction. "The trick is to make sure the processes communicate together to get the job done," Trower says. That communication will also eventually extend beyond the device-to-robot or robot-to-robot loop and reach the level of human-to-robot interaction. Today, most industry observers see robots evolving to a point at which they can be integrated into the work or home environment. The missing component has been an interface that a novice could use. Early on in the development of Robotics Studio, Microsoft created a partnership with the Lego Group that will help novice users program Lego's MINDSTORMS NXT -- literally an out-of-the-box robot for consumers. By coordinating with companies like Lego, Microsoft hopes to generate more interest around the concept of robots. "This is an early step to integrate robots into everyday life," says Kevin Kozuszek, director of marketing at KUKA Robotics. The Robotics Studio toolset will attract the robot enthusiast for its ease-of-use. But it's the simulation software that Microsoft has also included that will likely make the most impact in manufacturing, as it can help in training, concurrent development, or as a predictive tool. Robots 101 There are many computer science classes at the college level, but it's rare to stumble upon a robot class -- especially at the introductory level. With that in mind, Microsoft is funding the Center for Robotics Innovation at Carnegie Mellon University, to open later this year. The company also recently announced the creation of the Institute for Personal Robots in Education (IPRE) in partnership with the College of Computing at Georgia Tech and Bryn Mawr College. Over three years, Microsoft will provide $1 million toward developing practical ways to integrate robotic technology into the computer science curriculum. The goal is to stimulate new interest in computer science and attract students, while combating widespread concern in the U.S. over the declining number of students entering this field. "The students will be having fun, but they will be learning computer science at the same time," notes Tucker Balch, a Georgia Tech associate professor in the College of Computing's Interactive and Intelligent Computing division. In an interview posted on the Microsoft Web site, Balch said the program promotes the idea of personal robots. "In other words, instead of a 'mainframe' robot where everybody has to come to the lab... we want everybody to have their own robot in the same way everyone has their own PC. This is why we thought teaming with Microsoft on this effort made a lot of sense," he said. While the Robotics Studio is slated to accommodate young learners, the simulation software within it will also help advanced students -- or actual engineers -- create and debug the more sophisticated robot applications. Microsoft licensed the PhysX engine from AGEIA as a means of simulating robotic applications using realistic 3-D models. "For the industrial audience, the simulation tool not only allows you to model existing robots, but also create models of robots that don't exist yet," says Microsoft's Trower. That's where companies like KUKA and CoroWare see the most business benefit. For its part, KUKA is looking three to five years down the road to develop a "safe robot technology" that would enable people and robots to work closely together. Nowadays, robots are generally relegated to isolated work cells, since a moving arm could cause injury to someone standing in its path. Without disclosing too much detail, Kozuszek says safe technology would allow more interaction so that a robot and a person could work closely together. CoroWare, in conjunction with its sister company Robotic Workspace Technologies, which has created a universal robotic controller (URC), an open-architecture, PC-based controller for robotic applications, is figuring out how to make robots ubiquitous within the workforce. "The idea is to tie together the universal robotic controller into the larger IT infrastructure," says CoroWare's Spencer. Spencer says CoroWare has been keen on the idea of integrating robots and SOA, because the company realizes the potential of tapping into technology that today is limited only by its software program. "We are looking at robots not so much as 'Gee, that's cool,' but from the [standpoint] that robots should be able to do something functional in a warehouse, on a loading dock, or for surveillance. And when it notices something, it should be able to communicate back to the [IT] infrastructure," Spencer says. It's a concept that every robot manufacturer has thought about -- but it takes a powerhouse like Microsoft to initiate the change. "This is not about Microsoft pushing Microsoft technology," Trower maintains. "But we are giving the industry something it doesn't have, which is a platform to bring pieces of software and hardware together." This will allow the industry to build on itself, he says. Microsoft's entrance will no doubt attract investors and spur new companies to build a variety of products. Spencer believes that is the bottom line. "We will see more innovation in robotics."