Developers Show Off Super Brain Waves at the 2013 AT&T Developer Summit

DALLAS, Jan. 15, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Innovation ruled the day at the 2013 AT&T Developer Summit, recently held in Las Vegas on Jan. 7, the day before the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show.  The Summit kicked off with executive keynotes announcing news about AT&T* APIs and future plans for new platforms and included 39 breakout sessions, as well as dinner and evening entertainment for attendees.  A Hackathon, held over the two days leading up to the Summit, offered developers a chance to compete for over $125,000 in cash and prizes.

Over 470 attendees from the Hackathon formed 70 teams and were challenged to develop apps over 26 hours among five categories:

• Call Management API
• Connected Cars
• Machine to Machine apps
• Contact Management
• U-verse Live TV platform

Each team presented their app to a panel of judges with the top three invited to return the next morning to present a two minute "Fast Pitch" in front of thousands of developers attending the Summit keynote session.

First place and a prize of $30,000 went to Ruggero Scorcioni for his "GoodTimes" app.  Scorcioni developed an application that utilized a pair of Necomimi Brainwave Cat Ears.  The ears are designed to move when your brain is active and Scorcioni utilized signals from the ears to develop an app using the AT&T Call Management and AT&T M2M APIs to routes calls to an automated response when the person's thoughts are occupied.

Second place and $10,000 was awarded to Brad Roller, Jeremy Lizza, Basil Udoudoh, Walt Austin and J.D. Jordan.  Their "Talk To You Now (TTYN)" app also uses AT&T's Call Management API.  TTYN can convert voice to text and text to voice, allowing users to maintain a seamless phone conversation in real-time. The app has potentially significant benefits for both the speech and hearing impaired.

Third place went to Mark Davis with his "HearHere" app, earning him $5,000.  HearHere is a Windows Phone app using the AT&T Call Management API that creates a social network based on the sounds of a particular location – spoken reviews or interesting background noise of a certain restaurant, for instance.

General Motors sponsored a Connected Car Challenge as part of the Hackathon, in which 20 teams of developers created automotive-themed apps and competed to win a 2013 Chevy Volt.

First place winners Kyle Sleeper, Nic Meliones and Fredrick Thornton, developed the "QuickTrip" app that allows a driver to build a list of errands from their phones and sync that list with the car.  Built upon GM's recently launched software developer kit (SDK), the vehicle determines the most efficient route for a driver to complete those tasks.  QuickTrip also included a "heads-up display" to project relevant driving cues onto the windshield so a driver can keep their eyes on the road and not on their navigation system.      

Quotes          

"In 2012 alone, the AT&T Developer Program added almost 12,000 new members and continues to grow," said Jeff Bradley, senior vice president – Devices and Developer Services, AT&T.  "AT&T is very proud of our longstanding commitment to the developer community and our collaboration with developers to bring our customers more powerful, useful, and efficient apps through our APIs and the newly announced Alpha API Program."

"AT&T's Call Management API steps into the broader world of voice services. The open API makes it easy for Web-centric developers to build and deploy custom voice applications using their familiar tools," said Brian Washburn of Current Analysis.

AT&T Developer Program

Launched in 1996, the AT&T Developer Program is the longest-standing U.S. wireless carrier developer program.  With a membership totaling more than 31,000 active developers, the program has ranked best among all U.S. carriers for the sixth consecutive year by Evans Data Corporation. Key Developer Program highlights include the newly launched AT&T API Platform, including access to the AT&T Speech API, powered by the AT&T WATSON(SM) speech transcription engine. Other benefits include access to Software Development Kits, and device specifications; developer support through blogs, forums and webcasts; and numerous developer-focused hackathons and training events throughout the year.  Membership is free to all at http://developer.att.com.  

*AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.

About AT&T

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) is a premier communications holding company and one of the most honored companies in the world. Its subsidiaries and affiliates – AT&T operating companies – are the providers of AT&T services in the United States and internationally. With a powerful array of network resources that includes the nation's largest 4G network, AT&T is a leading provider of wireless, Wi-Fi, high speed Internet, voice and cloud-based services. A leader in mobile Internet, AT&T also offers the best wireless coverage worldwide of any U.S. carrier, offering the most wireless phones that work in the most countries.  It also offers advanced TV services under the AT&T U-verse^® and AT&T │DIRECTV brands. The company's suite of IP-based business communications services is one of the most advanced in the world.

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SOURCE AT&T Inc.