How to get started with the Microsoft Robotics Studio (MSRS) Visual Programming Language (VPL)?

First things first: at least you need to have an idea of what Microsoft Robotics Studio is, so having a look to the introduction is a must unless you are already familiar with this framework.

Step One: read the Introduction to Microsoft Robotics Studio

http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb483024.aspx

Now, let’s find out what is exactly the Visual Programming Language.

Step Two: read the VPL introduction.

http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb483088.aspx

At this stage you should now more or less what this tool is intended for and decide whether or not you want to learn further. It is time to download and install Microsoft Robotics Studio.

Step Three: download the latest version of MSRS.

http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=73092ff6-e37b-45c6-8e5e-c23d5d632b1e&displaylang=en

If everything went all right, now you have MSRS installed in your machine. It is time to have a look to the user guide. And more specifically, the VPL user guide.

Step Four: read the VPL user guide and start the VPL in your machine so you can get familiar with the interface.

http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb483129.aspx

After you have gone through the guide, you are in a good position to review and follow the VPL introductory tutorials.

Step Five: review, follow, and run the VPL introductory tutorials. This will teach you how to build from a simple “hello world” to a run a simulation from the VPL.

http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb483136.aspx

By now, you should have a good feeling of what you can get done using the VPL, however you want to deal with robots, so let’s face the next step: the robotics tutorials.

Step Six: start programming a robot by following the Basic Robotics Tutorials for VPL.

http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb466257.aspx

Do you want to face a real robotics application? Are you looking for more serious and comprehensive stuff? Let’s move then into the Lab Courseware.

Step Seven. Download the Microsoft Robotics Studio Courseware and follow the VPL Lab Tutorials.

MSRS Courseware download: http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=f294c8e7-6617-4dd8-8354-7e97f3167e1a&displaylang=en
MSRS Courseware documentation: http://msdn2.microsoft.com/en-us/library/bb727287.aspx

Once you have reached Lab Tutorial 6 you will be able to program a robot to learn basic behaviors from human robot spoken interaction. Next step is up to you!