Cogmation Robotics News and Updates

The following changes and improvements have been made to robotSuite:

-Double click on robot in project view displays robot’s contents (architectures)

-Double click on Architecture in robot view displays Architectures contents

-Allow adding architectures from templates on to RobotView via Drag and Drop

-Allow adding robots from templates on to ProjectView via Drag and Drop

-Clear I/O now updates properties

-Renaming modules updates tooltips

-Physical IO link now displayed on IOmodules

-Generation now handles multiple architectures

-Allow deleting links between architectures

-Multiple Architectures and robots of same name automatically renamed

-Will not open multiple projects of the same name, throws an error message instead

-Control+click interpreted as right mouse click

-Double clicking on unset IO displays Set IO Dialog

-Fixed bug that caused crashes when generating script modules that were empty or linked to non-existent files

-Fixed bug where VB scripting may have crashed robotFoundry

-Fixed bug where activation on splash screen caused application crash

robotSim Version 1.1.5

- Fixed packbot laser scanner to provide accurate data

- Allow VB scripts to run in simulation

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Cogmation robotSuiteTMmakes Robot Code Creation
Accessible to a Wider Audience

Winnipeg, MB, Canada March 27, 2008 — Cogmation Robotics announced the commercial release of robotSuite, a group of integrated applications designed to make robotic software creation easier. Disappointed with the current state of software development in the robotics field, robotSuitegrew out of a desire to take the rocket science out of robotics and bring real world applications to non technical consumers, gamers, as well as serious developers.

“I find existing software packages difficult to use and time-consuming to configure,” says Product Development Manager Sara Epp. “I can’t imagine how frustrating and restricting this must be for someone at the hobbyist level.” Drawing comparisons to the early days of personal computers, the company is striving to remove the bulk of tedious low level device setup, and enable users to focus on more creative and interesting high-level approaches.

“I would think a user would rather spend a couple of hours perfecting a complex wall-follower application and test it out in a maze, than spend that time writing hundreds of lines of code just to get the robot to move forward,” says Shawn Schaerer, Director of Research and Development.

Comprised of seamlessly integrated applications, robotSuite allows code to be quickly created in an intuitive environment, tested in a simulated environment, and then executed on a physical robot. robotFoundryTM is a graphical coding environment using flow-based programming, allowing the creation of functional robot code in minutes. The graphical IDE is complemented by a 3D simulator, robotSimTM, which takes advantage of Ageia PhysXTM to provide not only aesthetically appealing graphics, but realistic physics simulation as well.

Currently several consumer level robots are included in the package, including the enthusiast-favourite iRobot® Create®. “This just may be the holy grail of the robotics industry,” says Systronix® CEO Bruce Boyes, who recently finalized agreements to incorporate education-oriented TrackBotTM into the suite. Negotiations are currently underway with other hardware manufacturers, and the company is forecasting a rapid expansion of supported devices. More information and product downloads can be found on the company’s website, www.cogmation.com.