Trending technologies - AR and Alexa

Technologies are changing rapidly and new languages, tools, frameworks, methods are emerging quite frequently. It has become more important than ever before to have a continuous learning mindset. Recently I have completed 3 AWS certifications in 3 months in the cloud computing area (FYI... You need to schedule the exam in a Prometric testing center and go write in a controlled environment. The passing score is 72%). Now, I see that few of the services have some new changes already, UI is altered and a couple of new services have been added. Even the certification exam pattern is changing. This is just with respect to AWS in a few areas. What about other cloud vendors - Azure, GCP, DigitalOcean etc? If you consider other technologies like IoT, BlockChain, 3D printing, AI/ML, BigData, DevOps tools, AR, VR, MR etc the changes are definitely mind-blowing and overwhelming. It is not possible for anyone to keep up with everything that is going on. But technology is everywhere and one has to build intimacy towards it, especially if you are working in IT. You need not know everything but have the passion and caliber to learn, apply any new skill based on the requirements. I think the day is not far where organizations mandate technical skills, certifications even for managerial and leadership roles including executives. Few companies have already adopted this model. At the same time, it has become much easier to learn and pick-up any new skill. Information is just a search away with a plethora of options - a vast amount of documentation, forums, MOOCs. The languages, tools, frameworks, libraries are much more simplified to learn and apply as they abstract most of the complexity from the learners. All we need is the interest to continuously learn and improve. This reminds me of few gems Robin Sharma told while explaining the 60 minutes student ritual...

Education is an inoculation against disruption.

As you know more, you can achieve more.

Every master thinks like a beginner, they are always learning

Confidence is a muscle. The more you focus on it, practice it and train it, the stronger it grows.

In this article, let us discuss two trending skills - Augmented Reality (AR) and Conversational UI/Voice User Interface (VUI). The application of these technologies is exponentially growing across industries and also at an individual level.

In simple terms, Augmented Reality is a combination of real/physical and virtual/digital worlds. AR lets the user experience the real world, which has been digitally augmented or enhanced in some way. AR applications are best suited for use cases where users need to be connected to and present in the real world. It is vastly used in training, maintenance, manufacturing, gaming and entertainment.

VUI has become the norm for smart homes and many mobile applications. It has a different set of principles and best practices compared to the traditional UI/UX. Several platforms like Amazon Alexa, Apple Siri, Microsoft Cortana, Google Assistant etc are available to build conversational user interfaces where users just speak to the app to get the work done. It is not uncommon to see people uttering "Hello Google...", "Hi Alexa...", "Hi Siri..." to listen to their favourite music, get directions or for other useful information.

I guess a demo will help to put things in perspective than written text. I have developed a small AR app with 2 capabilities using Unity software which is predominantly used in game development and a basic Alexa skill using AWS Lambda, Alexa skill kit. Please watch the video I have uploaded to my youtube channel. In addition to the demos, I've shared 4 essential skills one need to have that make up 100% of the equation to help any individual become more successful in their profession and high-level details of AR, VUI. The video is of 22 minutes duration. If you are interested only in the demos, you can watch the video from the 14th minute.

Let me know what do you think of these technologies? Are you using them today or have a plan to adopt soon? What are the use cases in which you are applying these? What are your thoughts, in general, to keep abreast of the latest IT trends?

About me:

Anand Vemulapati is a seasoned IT professional with over 20 years of progressive cross-functional experience in Software Development, QA, Consulting, Product Management, Project Management, Support, Delivery, Process definition & implementation, Transformation initiatives, Software development methodologies in IT products and services organizations across several technologies. He has over 5 years of experience working in the USA, managed and worked with globally distributed teams, international customers and clients driving enterprise-level products, projects in organizations of different shapes, sizes and forms. Anand is a continuous learner, has a rare combination of business, leadership, functional, process and technical skills with many internationally recognized credentials to his name – Multiple AWS certifications, Pragmatic Marketing Certified, PMP, CSM, ITIL, Six Sigma etc.