AWS re:Invent Alexa Skill Contest

The challenge

Update: Contest support available in the Venetian, Level 1, Room 301

Amazon Alexa and Capital One have teamed up to accelerate the pace of voice technology innovation with a $10,000 Alexa skill contest for AWS re:Invent attendees. We are challenging attendees to build innovative voice experiences using the Alexa Skills Kit. Individuals or teams of up to four will compete to create a unique skill that a customer could use every day.

The grand prize is $10,000 for the winning team and a special edition gold Amazon Echo device for each team member (up to four). 10 finalists will receive an Amazon Echo device for each team member (up to four). Skill submissions are due at 10:00:01 a.m. PT on Thursday, December 1, 2016. The winners and finalists will be announced at 6 p.m. on Thursday, December 1, 2016.

AWS re:Invent attendees should submit their projects on Hackster.io for a chance to win. No Echo (or any other hardware) is needed to participate. A great contest submission will tell a compelling story, have a target audience in mind, and make people smile. Submissions must not be previously published skills, and must be eligible for publication as skills (meaning that they should comply with our content guidelines, should not be directed at children under 13, and need to avoid infringing IP). See official rules below.

Need an Idea?

• Build a skill that encourages customers to use Alexa every day

• Connect your favorite public API to Alexa

• Create a compelling adventure game for Alexa customers

• Add voice control to your IoT project using an Alexa skill

Good luck. We can't wait to see what you create!

ABOUT ALEXA

Alexa, the voice service that powers Echo, provides capabilities, or skills, that enable customers to interact with devices in a more intuitive way using voice. Examples of these skills include the ability to play music, answer general questions, set an alarm or timer and more. The Alexa Skills Kit (ASK) enables developers to easily build capabilities, called skills, for Alexa. ASK includes self-service APIs, documentation, templates and code samples to get developers on a rapid road to publishing their Alexa skills.

HOW TO PARTICIPATE

• (1) Create a free Hackster account

• (2) Register to participate in the contest on this page

• (3) Create an Amazon Developer account using the same email you used for your Hackster account

• (4) Design, build, and submit your Amazon Alexa skill

• (5) Submit your project on this contest page

SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS

Project submissions should be in English and must include:

• The skill ID number (for submitted skills)

• A video of your skill in action

• Your skill's story, accompanied by high-quality images

• Clear project documentation including VUI diagram

• A summary of materials and technology used

• Source code

JUDGING CRITERIA

Winners will be determined by the highest score based on the following judging criteria.

• Creativity (20%)

• Use of Voice User Interface (VUI) best practices (15%)

• Story/Instruction – Show how you created your project, including images, screenshots, and/or video (15%)

• Submitted skill (20%)

• Project Documentation, including VUI diagram (10%)

• Code – Include working code with helpful comments (10%)

• Great photographs, videos and screenshots (10%)

• Bonus: Use AWS Lambda to build your project, land extra points (Eligible for 15% bonus)

TESTING YOUR SKILL

If you don't have an Amazon Echo, the Alexa Skill Testing Tool (EchoSim.io) by iQuarius Media is a browser-based interface to Alexa, the voice service that powers Amazon Echo. Echosim.io is intended to allow developers who are working with the Alexa Skills Kit (ASK) to test skills in development. To use the Alexa Skill Testing Tool you simply navigate to https://Echosim.io and log in with your Amazon account. Click and hold the microphone button and speak a command as you would on the Echo. For example, say, “Alexa, what's the weather today?” When you let go of the button, EchoSim.io processes and responds to your voice command. Note that some features of the hardware Amazon Echo, such as streaming music and far-field voice recognition, will not function with this tool.

TECHNICAL RESOURCES

Getting started with the Alexa Skills Kit

Alexa Skills Kit Content Policy Guidelines

Voice Design Best Practices

Prizes

Grand Prize

1 winner

$10,000 and a Special Edition Gold Amazon Echo for each team member (up to 4). Up to $10,719.96 value per team.

Finalist

10 winners

Amazon Echo devices for each team member on up to 10 teams. Up to $719.96 value per team.