Microsoft Build 2018 highlights: Azure IoT Edge, Cortana and Alexa integration, Mixed Reality applications and more announced

AI for accessibility

Microsoft has launched it AI for accessibility wherein the students can pick any language they choose to receive the information. For example, a person who is blind can receive directions on the go with a device that can fit in your pocket. Or a person who is mute can use the technology to communicate with other people. The Grant program is going to give researchers, NGOs, access to platform tech to help the billions of people in the world with disabilities.

So it looks like Microsoft has organized some stretching exercises between Keynotes. Promotion of fitness maybe?

Soundscape from Microsoft is enabling communications for disabled people

Holo Lens integration with everyone

This looks so cool! 

Microsoft Teams AI feature

Going to a team meeting at your office? Meet Microsoft’s AI tool that tracks who is coming to a meeting, then takes real-time notes. Cortana and Alexa even identify key points and marks them separately. Also, there is real-time translation to anyone else who needs it.

Raanah Amjadi has taken the stage to explain more about the products that are using Azure Mixed Reality and IoT and how they will help in a professional setting.

Here’s what Microsoft Layout will do

Here’s what the Remote Assist will do

Mixed Reality

2 new products for Mixed Reality announced called Microsoft remote assist and Microsoft layout. Remote assist will let them get experts in VR to solve problems faster. In Layout, users can visualise and interact with 3D models in real-world size and context.

IoT and Microsoft

Lorraine Bardeen takes the stage to explain about how the Microsoft Graph, Azure and Office 365 will change the computation world with real-time access of IoT. Microsoft’s Holo Lens is a big part of this. 

What do some people think about this Alexa and Cortana integration

#Alexa and #Cortana working together! Pretty cool demo at #MSBuild to see how these virtual assistants can help each other help you. https://t.co/rpBYxWsgNf pic.twitter.com/37WtgR5i6G

— Rebecca Long (she/her) - Moving to Mastodon (@amaya30) May 7, 2018

Cortana and Alexa

Amazon and Microsoft working together

Cortana and Alexa will be integrated together. Megan Saunders, from Cortana and Tom Taylor for Amazon Alexa, explain how Cortana and Alexa integration will be very helpful.

Multi-Sense and Multi-device experience

This is going to be implemented primarily on Microsoft Office 365 and on the AI assistant Cortana.

Project Brainwave

It is a distributed real-time AI fabric which is working with FPGA’a from Intel to bring lower latency real-time AI to the user and all developers will have access to it. Microsoft Edge will also be part of project Brainwave. Jabil has partnered with Microsoft for Project Brainwave

What do people think about AI communication

Every agent should be able to communicate across different personal assistants - agree but communicate does not have to involve voice. What they need is to be able to cross access knowledge and data #MSBuild pic.twitter.com/XNilEsD40L

— Carolina Milanesi (@caro_milanesi) May 7, 2018

Azure Conversational AI

New customizations for talking to chatbots are being introduced. you can communicate with chatbots as though they are human. You can also choose various trigger words to make it easy to communicate.

Here is Microsoft’s Project Kinect

Project Kinect for Azure

#msbuild Hot damn the kinect chip looks sweet

— William Pitt (@Whp732) May 7, 2018

Microsoft new device for speech translation

Speech devices SDK and Reference Kits have been launched by Microsoft. These are small speakers that can be used in various applications for language translations.

Who is using Azure

Azure is being used in the world by some of the biggest companies such as BMW, Coca-Cola, Twitter, NBA, KPMG and more. Huawei uses machine translation from Azure. Xiaomi uses machine learning and speech recognition of Azure for live language translation.

Microsoft Azure features

Satya Nadella is back on stage to explain a bit more about AI

Microsoft’s AI innovation

2016- Object recognition

2017 – Speech recognition

2018 January – Machine reading recognition

2018 March – Machine translation

The DJI drone which is powered by the Azure IoT Edge

A closer look at the Qualcomm powered camera which run Microsoft Azure locally

Sam George explains about Azure Sphere

DJI

Microsoft is partnering with DJI, wherein the drone making company is launching an SDK on Windows 10 for letting developers build the software as they like. 

Azure IoT Edge

Azure IoT Edge will be open sourced for developers to run wild. 

What is Ubiquitous computing?

Ubiquitous computing means that, through the intelligent cloud and intelligent edge, every device, every sensor, every piece of equipment will be available as a compute resource. #MSBuild

— Microsoft (@Microsoft) May 7, 2018

There are three layers in the world of the intelligent cloud and intelligent edge

There are three layers in the world of the intelligent cloud and intelligent edge:

🌐Ubiquitous computing
📈 Artificial intelligence
📱💻Multi-sense, multi-device experiences#MSBuild

— Microsoft (@Microsoft) May 7, 2018

Microsoft Azure

Microsoft is focusing the most on Azure and Office 365 and improving them both. How are they doing this? Microsoft Azure is being built as a ubiquitous world computer. Azure already is active in 70 plus regions around the world. Azure is going to consist of the Azure, Azure Stack, Azure IoT Edge and Azure Sphere and all of them will be supporting Microsoft’s new business model.

Ethical AI

Microsoft is working continuously on Ethical AI. The company has been working with various industries to bring the best qualities of AI to the world.

Microsoft mission

We need to ask what computer should do Quote by Nadella,

We can make ethical AI choices possible for all developers. #MSBuild pic.twitter.com/wCgMKOpMxB

— Microsoft (@Microsoft) May 7, 2018

Microsoft Pillars

Microsoft is built on three pillars says Satya. The first is Privacy. Microsoft believes that the user needs to be in control of their data at all times. He is also praising the new European GDPR act which comes into effect soon to protect the online privacy of European citizens. The second is Cybersecurity. Microsoft has recently made a software to preserve the national security.

Nadella quotes Hans Jonas

Technology is shaping all aspects of our society + economy.

Technology is shaping all aspects of our society + economy. The opportunity at this year’s #MSBuild is to imagine the future we can create for every walk of life, in every sector of the economy.

— Microsoft (@Microsoft) May 7, 2018

Satya Nadella’s philosophy about the modern world

Satya Nadella explains how big an impact the computer has had on the productivity of today’s world. He explains that the Industrial revolution was the stepping stone towards the modern world and now the entire world is turning into a big computer. Every industry has now become computerized and the sheer computing power being distributed needs to grow and empower the world.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella is taking the stage at Build 2018.

WATCH LIVE: Microsoft CEO @satyanadella is taking the stage at #MSBuild. https://t.co/OsFvBsGlNB pic.twitter.com/VztaTdzlFq

— Microsoft (@Microsoft) May 7, 2018