Experts say that a few years from now voice will be the primary input mechanism for virtually all interfaces. Science fiction books, movies and TV shows have predicted this trend for years, including the iconic ship computer in Star Trek, or, more recently, the operating system Samantha in the 2013 film Her.
Yet these interfaces are no longer purely fiction; platforms like Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant are enabling users to talk to their computers and take more hands-free actions than ever before.
But what is the state of the art in 2019, and what does it mean for you as a software engineer?
Nara Kasbergen knows a lot about the subject since she is the lead engineer for voice interfaces and emerging platforms at National Public Radio (NPR). We got Nara to Tinel Meetup to cover the many things she learned along the way, including what voice UI development is and isn't. We'll go over the core strategy for building a voice app for platforms like Alexa and Google using JavaScript, as well as discuss limitations of the current tech and predictions for how it will evolve in the future.
Finally, she will touch upon some essential skills that a developer in this space should possess, so that you'll feel prepared to enter the voice UI space, whether you're planning to start working with it tomorrow or a decade from now.
The agenda for the upcoming Tinel Meetup #28 is as follows:
18:30 — 19:15 The gathering
19:15 — 19:30 Opening remarks
19:30 — 20:30 Nara Kasbergen: Voice - The new Frontend
20:30 — 20:45 Q&A with Nara
20:45 — FreeBeer o' clock!
If you're never been to Tinel, then you're in for a treat. Every single month we bring interesting tech speakers to Split with the help of our lovely event partner - ICT županija. A big emphasis is on networking and meeting new people that share your interests, so we strongly suggest that you arrive a bit earlier. Besides that, our event partners LAB Split, Bokamorra and Biberon Cakes will make sure that you are well refreshed with complimentary pizza, beers and cakes.
In case you decide to go for that extra beer, don't you dare to drive. Uber prepared a discount-code TINELMEETUP09 which makes driving back home a bit pointless - safety first!
See you at Tinel #28 with Nara Kasbergen on the 5th of September (19h).
