Gostai, a French startup that has developed a new programming language for commercially available robots, got some press coverage this weekend via an AFP wire report.
The recently formed startup is on a mission
to provide robot manufacturers and end-users with the best universal robotic platform, associated to state-of-the-art software modules (voice recognition, face detection,...) in partnership with leading robotic software companies and academic research labs.
It has a free to download version and plans to market its URBI language to developers of disaster and rescue robots, as well as consumer robots (Sony Aibo Dogs, Lego Mindstorms). Since we've tried some of these robot toys, we can vouch that a new programming tool that is easier and more flexible is a niche that hasn't been addressed very well yet.