My first capsule on Samsung Bixby
Last year I was working on some Alexa Skill project I can’t remember, when I heard about a new virtual assistant, Samsung Bixby.
As a developer, the first questions I asked myself were:
- How can I get started on Bixby development?
- Can I use an existing framework?
- Does it have a web console to test my app?
So, I decided to dig into it. First thing first, the documentation. I don’t remember if the link has been changed since then, but I couldn’t get the gig of it. I was (still am) really immersed in Alexa and Google Assistant, that I couldn’t find an easy way to associate the way to develop for Bixby to the way to develop for Alexa/Google Assistant.
Bixby Studio
Then, I went to look for a framework. I learned I couldn’t use any IDE to create Bixby capsules. I had to use (and it’s still the case) the Bixby Studio. It’s a software you have to install in your computer and it comes with all the resources to create, maintain, deploy and even publish your capsules from your computer. It also integrates a simulator to test your capsule.
But I had to give up as I was very busy with other projects and didn’t push myself to learn Bixby. This year, a friend of mine, and colleague, Mark Tucker, told me about the new Samsung Bixby competition, The Bixby DevJam. In this competition you had to compete to win for $125K in cash and prizes. That sounded really cool and I said to myself there was no excuse to keep procrastinating; besides, I did have some time free to learn Bixby and more important, I was going to start catching up with the industry.
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For next year (2020), Samsung promises huge things for Bixby. From what I’ve heard in the webinars and some news, they will start releasing Bixby in their products, specially appliances like microwaves, refrigerators, and their Smart TVs. So, certainly, Bixby will be everywhere globally, and everywhere in the house.
As my first capsule, I wanted to continue the tradition of adapting my very first voice app to the new platform I’m learning. In my case, I created a Lizard Spock capsule for Samsung Bixby. I didn’t know there was already a repository in the Samsung Bixby GitHub for this game, but my logic is a bit different than that.
Mark Tucker is a Samsung Bixby Premier Developer, and very enthusiast on helping others. So, I reached out to him with my questions, doubts, and he was always supportive and responsive. I got to overcome all the obstacles, and got my capsule published, even though I don’t have a Samsung device to test with. And this may be the story for several developers around the world, who don’t have physical devices to test their Bixby capsules.
Bixby Premier Developer Program
Roger Kibbe is one of the Technical Evangelists for Samsung Bixby and I met him last year (2018) when we both went to the Alexa Conference in Chattanooga, TN. I was really lucky that Roger remembered me from there, and invited me to apply to the Premier Developer program.
After meeting with other evangelists, talking to them about my background on voice apps and my willingness to start working on the Bixby platform, I was accepted to be part of the program, and I’m really excited to share this experience on this post.
Samsung is doing an outstanding job with Bixby. Even with its own features and the power of reaching millions of users worldwide really really soon, today is the right time to start creating capsules for Bixby.
Final
If you don’t know how to get started with Bixby, go the Developer Guide, spend 4 or 5 hours of your time reading it up, it does not have to be in the same day, but do it.
Want to get examples? Go to the Bixby GitHub repository, you will find several projects from basic to advanced examples to get started with real code.
You can apply for the Bixby Premier Developer Program too. In this link, you will find a form to apply to this awesome program.
And follow Bixby on Twitter to get the latest news that will help you keep up-to-date:
Samsung Developers: @samsung_dev
Bixby Developers: @BixbyDevelopers
Roger Kibbe (Technical Evangelist): @rogerkibbe
Pete Haas (Technical Evangelist): @PeteHaas
