The Alexa Voice Service team hosted several hands-on workshops at AWS re:Invent and Embedded Systems Conference 2017. We wanted to make sure that attendees, and those who were not able to join us at these events, had the opportunity to run through the sessions again either at home or with their colleagues.

Integrate Alexa Into Your Product with the AVS Device SDK

In the software-focused workshop, we taught developers how to leverage the AVS Device SDK’s C++ libraries to get their Alexa-enabled device to market faster. Using a Raspberry Pi 3 and a USB microphone, it’s easy to build an Alexa-enabled client by following the instructions on our GitHub Wiki page. For more information, review the resources below for the SDK workshop and our workshop Lab Manual.

Workshop Resources:

• AVS Device SDK page 
• SDK Workshop Slides from re:Invent
• SDK Workshop Lab Manual

Designing Far-Field Speech Processing Systems with Intel and the Alexa Voice Service

In our hardware-focused workshop, Intel collaborated with Amazon to teach attendees how to build a robust far-field voice-first product. We built prototypes running the SDK’s Sample App on a Raspberry Pi 3, using audio input from Intel’s Speech Enabling Developer Kit. This Audio Front End (AFE) combines Intel’s noise-reduction algorithms, Digital Signal Processor, and 8-mic array to allow devices to pick speech out from noisy environments, ensuring the best customer experience. For a deep-dive into important choices to make when selecting hardware, please review the resources below.

Workshop Resources:

• Development Kits for the Alexa Voice Service page
• Far-Field Workshop Slides from re:Invent
• Far-Field Workshop Lab Manual

Join us at CES 2018

If you weren’t able to make it to our workshops at AWS re:Invent or ESC 2017, sorry we missed you! We’ll be doing another hardware-focused session with Intel at CES 2018 in Las Vegas - Jan. 11^th, 2-4 PM at Las Vegas Convention Center, North Hall, N262-264. Stay tuned in 2018 for more workshops, leveraging newly released SDK capabilities, and the latest development kits available for your specific use case.

Sign up for the CES Workshop now.

Getting Started with AVS

Alexa is always getting smarter with new capabilities and services through machine learning. As a developer, your product also gains access to new capabilities with Alexa through API updates, feature launches, and custom skills. Learn how AVS can add rich voice-powered experiences to your connected products on the AVS Developer Portal.

Have questions? We’re here to help. Visit us on the AVS Forum or Alexa GitHub to speak with one of our experts.