Calling All Developers: Amazon and LEGO’s Voice Challenge Giving Away Over 100 Prizes

on September 26, 2019 at 7:43 am

Amazon and LEGO have joined forces to create a competition powered by Alexa that gives developers the chance to make immersive skills for LEGO’s robotic line of toys called MINDSTORM. Developers must utilize the Alexa Gadgets Toolkit to build a voice experience that connects to the MINDSTORMS EV3 software.

“We feel voice is a natural way to interface with technology and believe it will be a large part of the world of play moving forward. We are excited to collaborate with Amazon and provide our creators with the tools necessary to create a whole new set of experiences with our iconic products,” Tom Donaldson, Senior Vice President, LEGO Creative Play Lab told Amazon.

The LEGO MINDSTORMS Voice Challenge started yesterday and runs through December 31. There are over one hundred prizes worth up to $100,000.

Grand Prize: One winner will get $20,000 in Amazon gift cards, LEGO models, and a trip for two to LEGO Headquarters.
Finalists: Five people will receive $10,000 in Amazon gift cards and LEGO models.
Bonus prize for ages 13-17: One teenager will receive $5,000 in Amazon gift cards and LEGO models.
First 100 submissions: The first 100 entries will receive a $150 Amazon gift card.

Voice-activated Games Faster to Enter Market than Toys

Today, voice-activated board games are much easier to purchase than toys. Last year many Alexa-enabled games were showcased at the New York Toy Fair from giant companies like Mattel and Hasbro. A few months ago, Hasbro introduced a voice-activated version of their legendary Monopoly game to the market.

The nearly 90-year-old Lego Group is an iconic toy for people of all ages. While this is their first venture into voice technology, voice-enabled toys are clearly a focus for the company’s future business strategy. MINDSTORMS Voice Challenge isn’t their only active voice contest. Participants can submit voice experience designs on LEGO’s Ideas website now through October 17, without the constraint of just using Alexa.

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