Microsoft forms alliance with Tmsuk robot manufacturer

Microsoft and Tmsuk have announced a new partnership that will have Microsoft's Robotics Studio powering Tmsuk's robots. Tmsuk is a Japanese robot manufacturer that has been building robots since 1992. The large collection of robots Tmsuk has developed ranges from traditional wheeled robots to humanoids; the robots are designed for a number of different applications including health-care and office jobs, i.e., robot receptionists.

Tmsuk joins the large number of robot manufacturers who are providing drivers for the Microsoft Robotics Studio (MSRS), Bill Gates's initiative to create a standard platform for robot programming and development. Even though Microsoft only has a small number of engineers developing MSRS, they have achieved a large penetration in the market in a bit more than a year since their software development suit has been available to the public.

Gates is obviously taking this initiative very seriously. Microsoft has no problem using their influence in the industry to dominate a new market. The open source Player/Stage initiative is probably feeling the heat at the moment but they are also reporting more than 60,000 downloads. The battle has not been decided yet because even though software seems to progress quickly, hardware hasn't moved forward by much this year. Still, 2008 will be a critical year on deciding who will be providing software for the consumer robots that are expected to start dominating the market over then next decade.