LEGO and Amazon Announce Robotics/Voice Challenge

  • By Dian Schaffhauser
  • 10/18/19
LEGO and Amazon Voice/Robotics Challenge

LEGO and Amazon are challenging students to bring voice commands to robots. The two have announced a joint voice challenge, hoping schools will pick up on the contest as an in-class activity. The competition, which runs through the end of the year and is open to anybody, pushes students to create voice-powered experiences. Working in teams, they compete by producing a LEGO MINDSTORMS Education EV3 robotics creation that interacts with Amazon's Alexa using the Alexa Gadgets toolkit.

To help entrants, Amazon and LEGO have introduced four "missions" designed to help them through development of a "fully functional example…robot that interacts with an Alexa Skill."

Submissions need to include a video showing a working prototype, a walk-through showing how the project was created, working gadget source code and, as an option, assets and instructions that would allow others to recreate the project too.

Those who are among the first 100 participants to submit a complete entry will receive a $150 Amazon.com gift card.

One grand prize winner will take home $20,000 worth of Amazon gift cards, LEGO models and a trip to the LEGO headquarters in Denmark for a tour of the LEGO House and a meeting with LEGO toy designers. The winning creation will also be on view during the annual LEGO World event in Copenhagen. Finalists will receive sizable Amazon gift cards and LEGO products.

Registration is open now.

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • black graduation cap with a glowing blue AI brain circuit symbol on top

    Report: AI Is a Must for Modern Learners

    A new report from VitalSource identifies a growing demand among learners for AI tools, declaring that "AI isn't just a nice-to-have; it's a must."

  • young man in a denim jacket scans his phone at a card reader outside a modern glass building

    Colleges Roll Out Mobile Credential Technology

    Allegion US has announced a partnership with Florida Institute of Technology (FIT) and Denison College, in conjunction with Transact + CBORD, to install mobile credential technologies campuswide. Implementing Mobile Student ID into Apple Wallet and Google Wallet will allow students access to campus facilities, amenities, and residence halls using just their phones.

  • cybersecurity analyst in a modern operations center monitors multiple digital screens showing padlock icons, graphs, and a global map with security markers

    Louisiana State University Doubles Down on Larger Student-Run SOC

    In an effort to provide students with increased access to real-world cybersecurity experience, Louisiana State University has expanded its relationship with cybersecurity solutions provider TekStream to launch TigerSOC, a new student-run security operations center.

  • laptop with AI symbol on screen

    Google Launches Lightweight Gemma 3n, Expanding Edge AI Efforts

    Google DeepMind has officially launched Gemma 3n, the latest version of its lightweight generative AI model designed specifically for mobile and edge devices — a move that reinforces the company's emphasis on on-device computing.