For the past several months I've been working on a new project - it involves Silverlight 2.0, ASP.NET 3.5, WCF 3.5, REST, S+S, LiveID, Linq, SQL, IIS, .NET Framework 3.5, and..... robots.

That's right, I've been working on a worldwide robotics program called RoboChamps. The key thing here is we found a way for anyone to participate - we use simulation, we release content via rich commnity site chock full of training, videos, and other goodness, and we're using Microsoft Robotics Developer Studio 2008, which means you can code robots in .NET. 

RoboChamps is a league, and like sports leagues, will have a regular season comprised of a series of challenges. As RoboChamps is based in simulation, we can provide you with access to environments and robots most people could never get access to - from a trapped filled maze,  to city populated with driving cars and working trffic lights, to a city struck by an earthquake, a huge soccer stadium - even the surface of the planet Mars! We'll conclude the season with a single elimination tournament, where we'll continue until we've found four finalist and.... well, I'll talk about that more later in the season, but I'll give you a hint, it involves real robots and a major event.

If you're wondering "How much is this going to cost me?", I've got good news - there's no cost to join RoboChamps, no requirement to buy software, and we'll be giving away great prizes like real robots all season long. And I almost forgot, because this is based on MIcrosoft Robotics Developer Studio 2008, there's no huge learning curve - you can use the .NET skills you already have.

If you're not into competing but want to be part of the community, that's ok too. Check out the forums, our videos, get yourself a RoboCard with a cool animated avatar, and the fun stuff we've made available in our download area. In the fun stuff section, you'll find a Vista Sidebar Gadget, desktop backgrounds, even some blog bling. And don't forget to check out 'RoboChamps - The Show', our machinima-style video podcast. Currently hosted on our homepage, 'RoboChamps - The Show' will bring you updates on what's going on in the league and check out what's new and cool in the world of robotics.

Ready to get started? Go to the website at www.robochamps.com and click on the appropriately named 'Getting Started' link on the top left of the screen and you'll be programming robots before you know it!

Marc Mercuri
RoboChamps League Commissioner
mmercuri@microsoft.com

And for those of you who think robotics has nothing to do with your day job. Think again. I'm a services guy (remember those books on WCF?), and this stuff has it's applications outside of robots. It's distributed by default, scales to the compact framework and microframework, and has a rocking asynchronous messaging library called the Concurrency and Coordination Runtime (CCR) - or as I like to call it 'ManyCore for Mere Mortals'