Microsoft says it will present a conference session outlining its perspective of the robotics market, and will also host a technical seminar for hobbyist, commercial, and academic robot developers.

Windows Embedded operating systems are already used in a range of robotics applications such as the Corot shown above, intended for military and homeland security applications. The "Finalizer" battlebot, built for "serious competition," is based on an HP iPAQ Pocket PC running Windows Mobile 2003 along with the .NET Compact Framework. Windows CE-powered robots designed by a team at Cornell University play soccer. Another student team took first place in the Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Competition, with a robot running Windows XP Professional.

"Microsoft views robotics as an exciting new market poised for growth," said Microsoft general manager Tandy Trower. "As a premier business development event in intelligent systems and mobiles robotics, the RoboBusiness Conference and Exposition is a great venue for Microsoft to talk about the emerging robotics market."

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