In November 2016 we collaborated with Capital One to accelerate the pace of voice technology innovation with a $10,000 Alexa skill contest for AWS re:Invent attendees. In the contest we challenged attendees to build innovative voice experiences using the Alexa Skills Kit. Individuals or teams of up to four competed to create a unique skill that a customer could use every day.
In total, the contest ended with 61 approved projects between November 14 and December 1.
Hats off to everyone who competed in this contest. The breadth of submissions reinforce the future of voice, the next major disruption in computing. We encourage you to browse through the projects on Hackster.io for inspiration for our next contest.
Winners of the AWS re:Invent Alexa Skill Contest: please note, not all of the following projects are available on the Alexa app at this time.
Baby Checkr Are you a sleep deprived new parent? The fusion of voice and image recognition technologies make for the perfect skill for parents. The Baby Checkr skill can use a remote camera to track your baby’s recent movement. A scoring algorithm then identifies if the infant is awake or asleep. This combination of technologies has the potential for many other use cases, including checking the porch for package deliveries or recognizing who is ringing your doorbell.
Alexa Chaos Monkey: Do you have AWS architecture? Put it to the test by saying 'Alexa, ask chaos Monkey to terminate five ec2 instances'. Watch it in realtime by checking the accompanying serverless AWS web app to see what is up and what is down!
Tabata Workout: Do you have a resolution to get ripped? Perform high intensity 20 second interval training via Alexa with the Tabata workout skill. You can also record your reps to track your progress.
GetTickets Want Alexa to help you plan a fun Friday night? Get Tickets gives you information on the movies showing near your requested location, but also allows you to purchase and receive your tickets via SMS. Find movies, order your tickets, and get in the car.
AlexaWP: Ever hear of Wordpress? Use this plugin to turn your Wordpress site into an Alexa skill for your intended audience.
Ms. Doubtfire: Ready to focus on your baby instead of racking your memory for daily milestones? Ms. Doubtfire will make new parents' lives easier by allowing Alexa to track your baby's health. Just say, ‘Alexa, the baby ate 20 oz’ or ‘Alexa, my baby needs a new diaper’.
Alexa Pagerduty: Want pager mishaps to be a thing of the past? When your pager goes off at 4am, it can be tough to use a keyboard. Use Alexa to acknowledge, escalate, and resolve the ticket.
DineTime: In addition to finding the nearest restaurants, DineTime also lets you know what the wait time is at those restaurants. Let Alexa help you decide when you need to leave and where to dine.
Beer Scout - powered by Untappd: Is it five o’clock somewhere? Beer Scout brings one of the tastiest data sets directly to Alexa: beer ratings from Untappd. You can find and review beers as well as add them to your wishlist.
Catch Me Up: Ready for a no pics Instagram fix: Get your no pics instagram fix with the catch me up skill. Say 'Alexa, ask catch me up about Ariana Grande' to find out what your favorite celebrity is instagramming about. This skill uses the brand new AWS recognition service, announced at re:Invent to analyze instagram photos.
Mars Rover Mission: Do you enjoy adventure games? The Mars Rover Mission skill is an adventure game that allows you to control a Mars Rover. Put yourself into mission control.