Back in September, the LEGO Group joined forces with Amazon to launch a contest, in which the Amazon Alexa is integrated with LEGO® MINDSTORMS, to create a voice-powered experience. Now the winning entry has been chosen, and it’s a interactive game by Jason Allemann, aka JK Brickworks. Jason has create numerous powered LEGO projects so it’s not a surprise he would be a dab hand at integrating Alexa as well. Learn more about the winning entry and all the finalist below.
Amazon and the LEGO Group announce the winners of the $100,000 LEGO® MINDSTORMS Voice Challenge
Amazon and the LEGO Group are thrilled to announce the winners of the $100,000 LEGO MINDSTORMS Voice Challenge: Powered by Alexa. For the past three months Alexa developers, LEGO MINDSTORMS enthusiasts, and creators around the world have been experimenting with connecting the robotic and coding powers of LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 to Alexa to unlock the future of voice-based experiences.
The creations highlight what is possible with LEGO MINDSTORMS and the Alexa Gadgets Toolkit, which enables creators everywhere to build delightful, immersive voice-powered experiences that interact with Alexa. Contestants dedicated hours of their time to designing, building and coding their experiences using LEGO MINDSTORMS. From an Alexa-powered magic show and waffle-making robot, to a Sky Finder that joins forces with Alexa to reveal the locations of planets, stars and even galaxies; the submissions were fun, entertaining and inspiring. A panel from Amazon and the LEGO Group judged the submissions on the use of voice integration, innovation in the LEGO build and the development process. Together, the winning creations won prizes totaling $100,000 in value.
- Grand Prize – Game Station: Challenge yourself and your friends with interactive games powered by Alexa
- Finalist – Sky Finder: Explore space with this LEGO MINDSTORMS gadget and ask Alexa to show you the locations of planets, stars and even galaxies
- Finalist – Amazing Amazon Alexa’s Magic Show (feat. LEGO MINDSTORMS): Amazing Amazon Alexa teams up with the Legendary LEGO MINDSTORMS EV3 to perform an amazing magic show
- Finalist – Paige Turner: An Alexa voice-controlled, LEGO MINDSTORMS robot that can read and turn pages of books for the visually impaired
- Finalist – LEGO MINDSTORMS Wafflebot with Amazon Alexa: You talk to a robot about waffles, then the robot MAKES YOU WAFFLES
- Finalist – LEGO MINDSTORMS Puppy Training using Alexa Voice Control: Get the ultimate puppy owner experience: build a LEGO MINDSTORMS puppy and teach the puppy the basic commands using Alexa
- Finalist – Smart Susan: Everybody loves a tea party but many can’t afford a butler so this entry into the 13 – 17 Year Old Creators category transformed the Lazy Susan into a Smart Susan
Commenting on the creations submitted, Tom Donaldson, Senior Vice President of the LEGO Creative Play Lab said: “We believe anything is possible when it comes to building with LEGO products and we challenge ourselves to inspire our creators in new ways every day. For the last 20 years LEGO MINDSTORMS has delivered powerful technology in an accessible way that helps people bring their builds and imaginations to life. We were excited to see how our community would take their LEGO MINDSTORMS creations one step further by integrating Amazon’s voice-powered technology and we certainly weren’t disappointed. The submissions showcase the amazing creativity of our LEGO MINDSTORM builders and demonstrate the sheer breadth of new experiences that can be built with our iconic products.”
As well as wining $20,000 in Amazon Gift Cards, LEGO models and a trip to LEGO Headquarters in Billund, Denmark, the Grand Prize winner’s creation will be displayed for LEGO fans to view at the annual LEGO World event in Copenhagen this February.
