Microsoft has formed an alliance with Tmsuk, one of Japan’s largest robot makers, to develop a software standard that could underpin a new generation of humanoid assistants.

The robotics industry uses several operating systems that situation analysts say is holding back advances as code is often written from scratch. Microsoft hopes to accelerate progress by engineering a common standard. It also sees an opportunity to replicate its dominance in personal computers in a fast-growing sector.

Yoichi Takamoto, the Tmsuk president, said: “Right now, we cannot adopt one technology used in robot A to robot B. If Microsoft software comes to be used by many developers, then technological advances in robotics will dramatically accelerate.”

Microsoft stepped up its interest in robotics last year when it formed a new unit to explore the area. The resulting team of 11 software engineers is said to have the ear of Bill Gates, the group’s billionaire co-founder.

The robot sector is estimated to be worth $11 billion (£5.4 billion) a year and is set to double by 2010, according to the Japan Robot Association. It is forecast to exceed $66 billion by 2025. The lion’s share of growth is expected to be in nonindustrial applications, in areas such as toys and healthcare.

“Imagine a robot helping a recovering heart-attack patient get some exercise . . . carrying her intravenous medicine bag, monitoring her heart-beat and other vital signs,” a recent article in the journal Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers said.

The International Federation of Robotics predicts that 5.6 million robots will be sold from 2006 to 2009.

Microsoft’s competitors in the race to provide the software include Player, an open-source project part-funded by the US National Science Foundation, and a scattered group of niche players. None of those players, however, can match Microsoft’s financial might.

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