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How would you make home voice control more effective?
Challenge Type: computer science
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$1,600
top 50%
50
submissions
DONE
86 months

Imagine a world where everything in the home is controlled by voice.  With the proliferation of voice interfaces such as Google Home, Amazon Echo, Cortana, and Apple HomePod, that reality is soon approaching.  However, the way in which one controls devices using voice depends on which interface is used, and the way in which the commands are structured by the interface.  

For instance, if a homeowner has two thermostats in their home, they cannot simply say “I am hot” and the interface determine which thermostat must be controlled and by how much.  Instead, they have to remember which thermostat needs to be controlled, what they named the particular thermostat in their interface app, and tell the thermostat how much to adjust using a very specific command structure.  


Deliverables

So in the context of defining a better future state, we would like to see proposals on how a home could be more effectively, and intuitively, controlled by voice.  Controlled in a way that is interface-agnostic, and intuitive to the user.  The deliverables for this challenge are:

  1. Create algorithms that would allow the voice assistant to discern user intent without need for a formal command structure.  Specific areas of interest include:
    • An occupant is uncomfortable and wants to be more comfortable,
    • An occupant who has a home security system and no longer wants to push buttons to arm the system when leaving or turn the alarm off when returning home,
    • An occupant whose smoke alarm goes off and needs to notify authorities immediately.
  2. Methodologies that would recognize who is making the request and identify which device in the home is being commanded – without having to command it by name.
  3. Additional credit will be provided to those who create code utilizing smart thermostat and voice assistant API’s that could be implemented into a prototype voice interface app in support of deliverables 2 & 3 above.
    Submissions will be graded on the following criteria:
  • Meets Deliverables
  • Creativity
  • Clarity
Reward Tiers
Top 10%
will share $1,000
Next 15%
will share $400
Next 25%
will share $200
Actual individual rewards will be based on the total number of eligible solutions.
Leaderboard
$200.00 Dyllan Hancott Yorkville University
$200.00 Matthew Gaiser Queen's University
$200.00 Dallas Platt University of Queensland
$200.00 Yusuf Kajee University of Central Florida
$200.00 Elijah Thompson Queensland University of Technology
$50.00 Sophie Zhao McGill University
$50.00 Christopher Metro University of Central Florida
$50.00 Shazmaan Malek University at Buffalo
$50.00 Ashley Atwell
$50.00 Adarsh TR National Institute of Technology Calicut
$50.00 Manix Malakar University of Texas at Arlington
$50.00 Tucker Davis
$50.00 Samantha Thompson Brock University
$16.70 David Menaged University of Central Florida
$16.70 Gabrielle Thompson University of Central Florida
$16.70 Yasmin Molune Assumption University
$16.70 Animesh Raj University of Petroleum and Energy Studies
$16.70 Dr. Janelle Christine Simmons Liberty University
$16.70 Jessica Somers Middlesex University
$16.70 James Newell University of Central Florida
$16.70 Sophia Stromina Aristotelio College of Thessaloniki
$16.70 Ryan Snaadt Simpson College
$16.70 Nandan Kumar IIEST
$16.70 Lauryn Kell Western university of Ontario
$16.70 Votreeshwaran Ilangovan State University of New York at Buffalo
Submission questions


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