#CLHacks 1: Our Hackathon with Amazon

What can voice interfaces do better than apps?

The future looks a lot like the Oscar-winning movie Her. In addition to tapping screens and using mice, we’re going to talk to our computers, and they’ll verbally respond to us. While Alexa doesn’t sound quite like Scarlett Johansson (yet), we’re really excited to announce:

Together with Amazon, we’re hosting the Amazon Alexa and Echo Hackathon at our headquarters in Toronto. The hackathon will explore voice-based user interfaces for Alexa, the software that supports Amazon’s Echo hardware.

In case you didn’t know, Alexa’s platform enables people to interact with connected devices using just their voices. Attendees will build voice capabilities, called Skills, for Alexa. The Amazon team will provide training prior to the hackathon for using Amazon Web Services with the Alexa Skills Kit.

We’re interested in finding opportunities where a voice interface is better than a graphic interface. Or, in question format:

What can voice interfaces do better than apps?

We’re super excited for this event, and we’re sure we’ll see some concepts that blows even Spike Jonze’s mind (he directed Her).

Obviously before diving into the hackathon, we’ll make sure you’re ready. We’ll host a comprehensive workshop, where you’ll receive an introduction to Amazon Echo, and how to build an Alexa Skill using both AWS Lambda and AWS Beanstalk.

Remember, throughout the workshop and hackathon, you’ll also have the opportunity to work 1:1 with experts from Alexa and Connected Lab. You will also have a chance to win Amazon Echo devices and internships with Connected Lab, as well as coverage from Amazon’s developer team.

We just opened up the event last week and we’re already half full. Sign up today and explore the future of voice-powered computing with us.