Accelerating your AI solutions with Azure Percept

Azure Percept is a comprehensive, easy-to-use platform with added security for creating edge AI solutions.

Lets have a look at how easily Azure Percept works out of the box with Azure Cognitive Services, Azure Machine Learning, and other Azure services to deliver vision and audio insights in real time on the edge.

Building Connected Intelligent Applications with .NET MAUI

.NET MAUI (Multi-platform App UI) enables C# devs to become native iOS, Android, and Windows app developers overnight.

Azure AI services encompass an extensive range of readily available and adaptable artificial intelligence resources, including tools, APIs, and models. These resources facilitate the acceleration of your business process modernization efforts.

Leverage these intelligent capabilities to build advanced tools and applications powered by extensive language models. These solutions drive automation in document processing, enhance customer service, pinpoint the origins of anomalies, extract valuable insights from content, and much more.

This session is about how to leverage your existing .NET and C# skills to create intelligent AI enabled apps on iOS, Android in Visual Studio.

Building BLE enabled mobile experiences using .NET MAUI and Nanoframework

Are you interested in learning how to build exciting and innovative cross-platform applications? If so, then this session on learning .NET MAUI and using Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) to connect to an ESP32 using .NET Nanoframework is just for you!

During this session, you will learn how to use the .NET MAUI framework to build native applications for Android, iOS, and Windows devices. You will also learn how to use BLE to connect your application to an ESP32 microcontroller using the .NET Nanoframework. By the end of this session, you will have a solid understanding of the concepts involved in building cross-platform applications using .NET MAUI and how to leverage BLE technology to create a powerful and versatile application.

Whether you are an experienced developer or just starting out, this session is perfect for anyone looking to learn more about .NET MAUI and BLE technology. So, come join us and take your development skills to the next level!

Create the sustainable home farm of your dreams!

Are you interested in growing your own food at home, but unsure of how to get started? Do you want to create a sustainable home farm that is both productive and environmentally friendly? Look no further!

In this exciting presentation, we will be exploring the amazing potential of using your dev skills in C# and .NET, using .NET Nanoframework on microcontrollers (ESP32) and the cloud to create a sustainable home farm. By leveraging the power of these technologies, you can optimize your home farm for maximum productivity, sustainability and power efficiency. But best of all not have it be a full time job to maintain as a home farmer.

Join me on my journey of builidng my own farm at home and I will cover my experiences and everything needed to build a ruggedized, weather-proof, outdoor farming system: powered by the sun and irrigated by rainwater.

Let's Talk About Azure and the Internet of Things!

With the hype of AI, the buzz around "Internet of Things" has been left by the wayside. It is however still very much a "Thing" in the world. In the age of AI: Data and Telemetry are more important than ever. In this session we will have a look at all the IoT offerings found in Azure from the "old" but proven, “Azure IoT Hub” to the shiny new “Azure IoT Operations” currently in preview.

We will cover all the available options including:

Azure IoT Hub
Azure IoT Edge
Azure Event Grid
Azure IoT Central
Azure IoT Operations

During the session we will talk about where to use what and when. From Cloud IoT to Edge IoT and the services and solutions provided in Azure for each option.

I hope you will join me in this look at all the options we have in our Azure Toolbox to add the "I" of “IoT” to our electronic, embedded creations and flashy LED solutions!

The session is the standard 45 min session. Requirements is the Internet. An available table and a multiplug /extra plug points is always appreciated for any of my IoT talks.

Xamarin and Beyond!

Xamarin enables C# devs to become native iOS, Android, and Windows mobile app developers overnight. We all by now know Xamarin is an awesome platform for mobile development. In this session we go beyond mobile and complete the ".NET everywhere story" and look at Xamarin and .NET c# based applications running on Linux desktops, IoT devices, Web applications via Web Assembly, Tvs and more!

We will take cross platform to the extreme and extend code sharing across more than the usual mobile platforms using Xamarin and .NET Standard.

What we will feature in this session:

Linux GTK
Mono and Web Assembly
Android Things
Tizen
And maybe a surprise platform or two

Using Azure and the Internet of Things

Azure IoT Hub is a Microsoft Azure cloud service that offers reliable and secure device-to-cloud and cloud-to-device messaging that scales to millions of devices.

This session is about embracing all “Internet of Things” devices, whatever the technology or IoT platform used. We will together add the “I” in IoT with the power of Azure Iot in a secure bi-directional way and feature solutions using Azure Stream Analytics and also some Azure Machine Learning.

With Azure IoT, makers can get started with minimum effort and scale up your solution as its needs grow, without having to rewrite it or rework what you’ve already built."

What we will cover in this session:

Different IoT device platforms and what they offer
Developer Tooling
Azure IoT Hubs
Azure Stream Analytics
Machine Learning

Building the Intelligent Edge with Azure and IoT Edge

The Intelligent Edge: Make hybrid cloud and Internet of Things (IoT) solutions a reality with Azure IoT Edge, a fully managed service that delivers cloud intelligence locally. Seamlessly deploy and run artificial intelligence, Azure services, and custom logic directly on cross-platform IoT devices—from a small Raspberry Pi to large industrial machines. And manage it all centrally in the cloud with the security of Microsoft.

Use the same programming models you use in the cloud to create and test your IoT applications and then push them to your edge devices. This session is an introduction to Azure Iot Edge and what it can do for you.

Getting started with Azure Sphere

Get ready for the MCU IoT revolution
Azure Sphere is a solution for creating highly-secured, connected Microcontroller (MCU) devices, providing you with the confidence and the power to reimagine your business and create the future.

Join me for an introduction to Azure Sphere and all things Azure IoT. Come see the devices in action!

Let's Talk About Azure IoT

All about devices, Azure IoT Hubs and Azure Sphere

Get ready for the MCU IoT revolution

Azure Sphere is a solution for creating highly-secured, connected Microcontroller (MCU) devices, providing you with the confidence and the power to reimagine your business and create the future.

Featuring

Azure IoT and IoT Edge
Azure Sphere
MXchip Azure Kit

Let's create an Azure Sphere, Real-time Secure IoT Solution

Get ready for the MCU IoT revolution

Azure Sphere is a solution for creating highly-secured, connected Microcontroller (MCU) devices, providing you with the confidence and the power to reimagine your business and create the future.

Let's firstly learn what Azure Sphere is all about and why it's a good thing for society. Then we will have some demo fun and learn more with it in action within a mobile enabled real-time IoT solution.

What will be learnt is how Azure Sphere, Azure IoT Hubs, Xamarin, SignalR and CosmosDB can all come together in a melting pot to create a solution.

Build Cross Platform Mobile Apps with Xamarin

These days .NET can be found running almost anywhere! Let's have a look together at what's new in Xamarin and Xamarin Forms and also how to leverage your existing .NET and C# skills to create beautiful native cross platform mobile apps in Visual Studio 2019.

The hobbyists guide to solving household problems with IoT Central

Recently Cape Town was to become the first major city to run out of water. I did what most Capetonians did at the time, I purchased a rainwater tank. It worked well and helped reduce the need for tap water. I had just moved water to the "Edge" (our house) but all the problems of managing water is now mine! That lead me to wonder, how do I know this water is safe and won't harm us?

This session is about how to use IoT Central and a few hobbyist components to monitor the water conditions in the garden rain water tank, quickly, easily and best of all for free.

This solution was for my own personal family use, what could we use this technology to do for the rest of society?

Learning about building an Azure IoT Edge Solution the fun way

The Intelligent Edge: Make hybrid cloud and Internet of Things (IoT) solutions a reality with Azure IoT Edge, a fully managed service that delivers cloud intelligence locally. Seamlessly deploy and run artificial intelligence, Azure services, and custom logic directly on cross-platform IoT devices—from a small Raspberry Pi to large industrial machines. And manage it all centrally in the cloud with the security of Microsoft.

Let's look at learning how Azure IoT Edge works the fun way. Lets look at how it can be used to create a mini robot platform.

The hobbyists guide to getting started with cloud connected IoT Solutions

Before solving the world's problems with tech, one has to start somewhere. Where better than practicing at home with our own household problems to solve?

In this session we will be looking into getting up and running with a globally scalable IoT platform like Microsoft Azure the quick, fun and easy way.

Featured in the session will also be some interesting devices out there to use, like the common Nodemcu, MXChip AZ3166 kits, Maixduino AI accelerated boards and also why something like Azure Sphere devices are important not only to our own projects but to society as well as a whole.

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Hackathons for Skills Development

This session is all about how we are creating a platform to learn anything via IoT.

We have a skills shortage in South Africa. A way to start addressing that problem, is to bring more interesting, fun and physically tangible training to the community to accelerate learning.

Instead of boring lectures, demo's and exercises in console windows, we are using hackathons to facilitate learning. Starting with IoT and AI we will be creating a learning platform attendees can take home in a physical form, with the aim to build on it each lesson.

The learning topics go far beyond AI and IoT and what will be able to be learnt, the sky is the limit!

Getting Started with App Center Build-Test-Distribute

Visual Studio App Center is an integrated mobile development lifecycle solution for iOS, Android, Windows and macOS apps. It brings together multiple services commonly used by mobile developers.

In this lab, we are going to automate the Build-Test-Distribute process for mobile applications using App Center

See how you can use App Center to:

- Build you mobile app from a repository
- Manage Teams and Distribution groups for apps
- Test the application
- Automate Build-Test-Distribute

Features of App Center

Visual Studio App Center is an integrated mobile development lifecycle solution for iOS, Android, Windows and macOS apps. It brings together multiple services commonly used by mobile developers.

In this lab, we are going to learn how to use the additional features of App Center over and above the CI /CD capabilities.

See how you can use App Center to:

- Build you mobile app from a repository (Xamarin, iOS, Android or React-Native)
- Distribute application to a group of users
- Use Crash Logging
- Create Usage Analytics
- Push Notifications

.NET is Everywhere: Internet of Things and Microcontrollers!

Join this session for a captivating journey into the realm of Internet of Things (IoT) as we explore the revolutionary possibilities of running .NET on microcontrollers.

In this lightning talk, we will delve into the convergence of powerful .NET capabilities with the constrained environments of microcontrollers, showcasing how this synergy is reshaping the landscape of edge computing.

Microsoft Graph goes Mobile

Microsoft Graph is the gateway to data and intelligence in Microsoft 365. It provides a unified programmability model that you can use to access the tremendous amount of data in Office 365.

Let's take a deep dive into Microsoft Graph and how you can use the Microsoft Graph SDK in your mobile apps.

Azure DevOps on the Edge!

In this deep dive into what is needed to create IoT Edge Modules and compose Edge solutions, we will have a look at how to use Azure DevOps to continuously build and deploy IoT Edge applications to real devices at scale.

There will be docker, there will be manifests and there will be bots!

Automating your Home or Office with IoT Central and Power Apps

The world is moving rapidly towards integrating technology into our daily lives. Smart Homes and Smart Buildings are becoming the norm.

IoT Central is an IoT application platform that reduces the burden and cost of developing, managing, and maintaining enterprise-grade IoT solutions.

Power Apps is a suite of apps, services, connectors and data platform that provides a rapid application development environment to build custom apps.

In this session we will be looking at using both to leverage "low-code" to rapidly create scalable solutions to automate the home or office.