Explore a conference talk on programming abstractions for distributed robotic applications, delivered by Sayan Mitra from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Delve into the challenges and opportunities in developing platform-independent abstractions for connected vehicles and distributed robotic systems. Learn about Koord, a new programming language designed to simplify robot code development by abstracting platform-specific functions for sensing, communication, and low-level control. Discover how this approach can make control and coordination code more portable and modularly verifiable across different hardware platforms. Gain insights into the potential impact of these programming advancements on various fields, including transportation, agriculture, delivery, and exploration.