Artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies continue to evolve and teach people around the world creative solutions to modern-day problems.

Gamification is a popular approach, as it introduces a fun twist to learning while engaging people with incentives, such as leaderboard scores, prizes and trophies. Different solutions are available for developers to learn more about AI and machine learning, including projects like the AWS DeepRacer simulator. 

“Developers can start with the cloud-based simulator where they’re introduced to reinforcement learning which basically teaches our car to drive around a track through trial and error,” explained Mike Miller (pictured), general manager of AI devices at Amazon Web Services Inc. “The camera on the front does the sensing to the compute board that’s driven by an Intel Atom processor on the vehicle that allows it to make sense of the road in front of it and then decides where it wants to drive.”

Miller spoke with industry analyst John Furrier during the recent AWS Summit San Francisco event, an exclusive broadcast on theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio. They discussed how AWS’ DeepRacer program helps teach developers about AI and machine learning. (* Disclosure below.)

Gamified experience for developers

Helping developers learn about emerging technology is a key AWS objective, and the company does so through both the DeepRacer and its Summits. Through the AWS virtual racing experience, developers can learn while not having to invest in the hardware costs. They can also attend an AWS Summit where they can download their model onto the cars and test them on a track. 

Other learning experiences are aimed at students and company employees. With the help of Udacity Inc. and Intel, AWS launched a $10 million scholarship program. High school and college students can learn about machine learning and qualify for scholarships. AWS also offers promotions for companies to excite employees and promote collaborative learning. 

DeepRacer gives developers the chance to experiment with different solutions by releasing an open source version of the game, Miller pointed out.

“Somebody mounted a Nerf cannon on top of this,” he added, holding up an AWS DeepRacer autonomous 1/18th scale race car. “Somebody built a computer vision model that could recognize rodents to scare them off.” 

Here’s the complete video interview, part of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE’s coverage of the AWS Summit San Francisco event:

(* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for the AWS Summit San Francisco event. Neither Amazon Web Services Inc., the sponsor for theCUBE’s event coverage, nor other sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE