BrickFest ‘06 - Open-Source Firmware Soon?

Friday, August 25th, 2006

During a LEGO Mindstorms NXT Q&A session with the MUP/MDP/MCP members, it was briefly mentioned that LEGO may be releasing the NXT firmware source code within the next two weeks.  We will keep you posted if we find out more.

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BrickFest ‘06 - MS Robotics Studio

Friday, August 25th, 2006

The first NXT-related session of the day featured a presentation by Geoff Gray on Microsoft Robotics Studio. Geoff was fortunate enough to not only work with Microsoft to develop Robotics Studio, but also with LEGO as a Mindstorms Developer Program participant. Knowing early on that both projects were in the works, he commented on the interesting challenge of avoiding the acknowledgment of the other’s existence due to concurrent nondisclosure agreements.

Equipped with a laptop, a beta of Windows Vista, and the latest CTP of Robotics Studio, Geoff gave us an overview on each of the component files provided with the installation. He explained how Robotics Studio essentially allows a developer to build services and expose them through a web interface. With Fantom handling the low-level commands to the intelligent brick, the high-level programming becomes much more simplified.

Geoff was unable to perform a drive-by-wire demonstration with his robot (probably due to the inability to access the manifest without internet connectivity), but he will certainly let us know later this weekend if he gets it to work. Stay tuned.

The final release of Microsoft Robotics Studio, including the simulation package, is slated for sometime in October. It looks like it will remain as a free download.

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Eric Arrives at BrickFest 2006!

Friday, August 25th, 2006

I woke up pretty early this morning to make the 200 mile journey up to the Washington, D.C. area for BrickFest 2006. Thank goodness I was able to avoid morning rush hour traffic as it’s usually bad on the route I took. After about 3.5 hours, I finally made it to the Sheraton Premier.

A nice big sign greeted me when I walked through the door. So far, the event looks well-organized. This is my first BrickFest, but it looks like the turnout is really good. The people I’ve met have been very friendly. I can’t wait to meet some of the MDP members!

All registered attendees are given LEGO parts to build their own badges. I, unfortunately, lack the creativity to put together anything cool and original, but I did see one guy with a NXT sensor and those orange claw tips attached to his badge.

I was in a bit of a hurry to make the Microsoft Robotics Studio speaker session, so I wasn’t able to see everything on display. I did manage, however, to take a quick shot of W.O.P.R. - a NXT Tic-Tac-Toe game by Bryan Bonahoom (hence, the B-squared). Click on the thumbnail for a higher resolution photograph.

More coverage to follow!!

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