Speaker

Lee Englestone

Lee Englestone

CEO & Founder @ Intrepid Future / Microsoft MVP

Manchester, United Kingdom

CEO & Founder @ Intrepid Future
He is constantly working on innovative side projects, building things and looking for ways to educate the .NET community in cool technologies.

He is the creator of VisualStudioTips.co.uk, HackathonTips.com, XamarinArkit.com and TechCommunityCalendar.com

Lee Tweets @LeeEnglestone and his published book by APress is on Amazon (.NET Developer's Guide to Augmented Reality in iOS: Building Immersive Apps Using Xamarin, ARKit, and C#)

He is currently studying for his masters degree. MSc Entrepreneurship Management and Innovation.

Area of Expertise

  • Information & Communications Technology

Topics

  • Augmented Reality
  • .NET
  • Xamarin
  • ARKit
  • Machine Leaning
  • Azure
  • c#
  • Software
  • Mixed Reality
  • Virtual Reality
  • XR
  • Innovation
  • Entrepreneurship

Naughty Elf Detector using AI and Computer Vision

It's that time of the year again when the naughty elves return to terrorise our homes during the festive season, causing mischief and pulling pranks.

To help combat this, I will create a naughty elf detector or a "naughty elf early warning system" if you like. I will train an image classification model to identify naught elves and respond accordingly.

Augmented Reality using Xamarin, ARKit, C# and .NET

In this session we will look at how easy (yet overlooked) it is for .NET developers to create Augmented Reality mobile applications for iOS devices using Xamarin, ARKit and C#

Analysing Faces With and Without Code

In this session I start by discussing facial expressions and how they are expressed by emotion including micro expressions and the facial action coding system touching on some of the psychology why faces are important to us.

I then go on to analyse images of faces using Azure Face API and then go on to analyse the live camera feed of the face using an app I built showing how we can infer the emotion a person may be feeling by analysing their face in realtime and even capture facial expressions.

https://youtu.be/cLBac-ww_Tw?t=510

Machine Learning with Cartoon Characters and Christmas Trees

Discussing 2 different approaches to Machine Learning i've experimented with.

1) GoodyOrBaddy.com - Using ML .NET locally to create an Image Classification model then host it/call it in an Azure Function

2) isChristmasTree.com - Using CustomVision .ai to do all the training and hosting on http://CustomVision.ai

Creating a Wordle Helper App for iPhone using the Camera, Text Recognition, Xamarin, C# and .NET

I'll talk about the cultural phenomenon that is Wordle, its history and what inspired me to create the app.

Then discuss how the app uses the camera to see the users guesses and recommend a list of matching words. No typing required!

Interesting topics covered include OCR (Optical Character Recognition), determining average colours and future applications.

Whilst it is an iPhone app, it was NOT created with Swift or Objective-C.

The code is written in C# in Visual Studio for Mac and deployed to my iPhone using Xamarin.iOS.

I hope to inspire others to create similar apps for iOS using their C# and .NET knowledge.

The Power of Play - A Journey of Experimentation, Learning and Innovation

I discuss the importance of play and experimentation when it comes to learning and innovation. Including how this mindset can help personal and professional growth.

I share interesting examples of my own side projects including machine learning, generative ai, augmented reality, virtual reality and how they have helped me learn these new technologies and add to my toolbelt.

I intertwine these examples with important takeaways and thoughts regarding the importance and power of play and why we should keep on learning and innovating.

Using GenAI and Mixed Reality to Create and Display Christmas Cards

From within a Mixed Reality application.. I'll show how to call the Chat GPT OpenAI API and use the response to generate Christmas card design images from the DALL-E OpenAI API..

Then we'll view the resulting custom Christmas card designs within Mixed Reality.

Technologies used/demonstrated:
- Visual Studio 2022
- C#
- StereoKit (for MR)
- Oculus Quest 3 headset
- OpenAI API (Chat GPT & DALL-E)

Generative AI Tours Side Project

I share my GenAI side/ hackathon project that was a finalist in the Worldwide AI Hackathon and demonstrate how to implement the Open AI API with a fun proof of concept.

The session will cover:
• The Chat GPT prompt itself, including its capabilities and foibles
• How to call the OpenAI API from C# code
• Caching OpenAI API responses
• Lessons learned and summary

This is a simple, practical implementation using ASP.NET, JavaScript, C#, and the Open AI API, and aims to lower the barrier to entry as much as possible when it comes to turning theory into practice.

Introduction to StereoKit Mixed Reality Development

We will see how .NET developers can create Mixed Reality experiences for headsets such as Meta Quest 2 & 3 using just C# & .NET with Visual Studio.

This is a great way for .NET developers to get into Mixed Reality development.

For example see SpatialCharts.com for an example experience created using this approach.

Festive Tech Calendar 2023 Sessionize Event

December 2023

Global XR Conference 2023 Sessionize Event

November 2023

DDD North 2022 Sessionize Event

December 2022 Kingston upon Hull, United Kingdom

Festive Tech Calendar 2022 Sessionize Event

December 2022

Global Azure 2022 Sessionize Event

May 2022

Festive Tech Calendar 2021 Sessionize Event

December 2021

Global XR Conference 2021 Sessionize Event

December 2021

Festive Tech Calendar Sessionize Event

December 2020

Lee Englestone

CEO & Founder @ Intrepid Future / Microsoft MVP

Manchester, United Kingdom