8Bit/Digi

DevelopersWeek SF Bay Area is one of the largest conferences for developers. The event brings together major companies along with prominent start-ups for an opportunity to learn about the latest trends in the tech industry.

This five day event allowed developers from all sections of the tech industries to gather for an opportunity to network among themselves, learn new skills and discover trends with in the industry. 8Bit/Digi was present during DevWeek 2019 and these are the highlights from the conference.

The Expo Floor

The expo floor had a good number of major and start up tech companies setup who wanted to share their work while also on the look out for new talent. Each booth allowed guests to learn about the company and the projects they are working on. Many also had demos setup that allowed guests to get a sample of their services.

Here are some of the booths I got to check out and people I meet on the expo floor:

Fujitsu was present to showcase its new keyboards that have been designed to be developer and gamer friendly. Happy Hacking Keyboard was designed to accommodate the needs of developers who are working in a fast paced environment. REALFORCE takes the same setup and puts it into a gamer keyboard.

Thanks to the support from Samsung, the team from Audioburst were showcasing their new audio technology platform. The system allows users to search for talk news content using an AI and Natural Language Processing.

Whitepages Inc. was promoting their identity verification system and web tools. thanks to an enterprise-scale API. Companies and start ups interested in using their system could learn more from the many reps that were present.

Known for their cameras and photo technology, Canon was present to promote its new Developer Community. This allows developers and photographers who use Canon technology to better work together.

Kicking Horse Coffee was back once again to provide guests with a free cup of damn fine coffee.

Workshops and Panels

Industry conventions are mostly about learning of the new trends along with what to expect in the future. DevWeek organized a series of panels and workshops that discussed a verity of topics given by industry insiders about emerging trends along with major issues.

Machines That “See” in 3D – How AI Enables Dual-Camera Machines to Perceive Depth from Images was hosted by Han Jin of Lucid and was an inside look into the future of 3D cameras. Using the work done with the LucidCam, the audience got an inside look into the work being done with 3D cameras in conjunction with advancements made in AI.

Driving Innovation Through Diversity by Claudia Galvan of Early Stage Innovation made the case for why a diverse team is a strong team. Using a series of research done, this panel looked into the benefits of a diverse team and how to build one.

IoT Device Control with the Magic Leap AR Headset by Jordan Schuetz of PubNub talked about the need to develop applications for augmented reality devices. However, there are several challenges that developers will overcome and this presentation looked into what they are.

BoseDevs Meetup

BoseDevs Meetup was a special event that allowed guest to learn more about the new Bose AR. Those who attended got to learn more about its function and potential with the Bose Team. At same time guest got to mingling among others or try out the glasses.

2019 Devies Awards

The Devies is an award presenting during DevWeek to honor the best services, software or projects in the industry. There are numerous categories and the winners are selected by the DeveloperWeek Advisory Board. The winners of the 2019 Devies Awards are:

3D / VR / AR Dev – Bose for Bose AR
API Infrastructure – PubNub for PubNub Data
API Services – DocuSign for eSignature
App Analytics / Testing – SmartBear Software for TestComplete
Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning – mabl for mabl
Blockchain / Cryptocurrency Dev – IBM for IBM Blockchain
Coding Frameworks / Libraries –Red Hat for Node.js
Communication Dev – SendGrid for SendGrid API v3
Data Dev Tools – Redis Labs
DevOps – Puppet
IoT / Hardware Dev – Decentralized Technology for dczd.tech
Security & Networks – Ping Identity for Ping API
Mobile Development – TomTom for Maps SDK
Robotics – Kambria for Open Innovation Platform
Platform-as-a-service – Youredi for Youredi iPaa5

Expo Block Party

When Thursday came to an end, guests gathered in the main hall for the Expo Block Party. This was an opportunity for everyone to relax after a long day with some good food, a few brews and the company of new friends. Guests got to have some one-on-one with the speakers or hang out at their favorite booth for some personal time.

Off-Site Mixers

DevWeek was not just about going to panels, checking out the industry on the Expo Floor and learning new trends. It’s also an opportunity to network with others in the industry and build new relationships. Several mixers were organized during the week and held at venues around Downtown Oakland and San Francisco.

Did you get a chance to checkout the DevelopersWeek SF Bay Area 2019? If so then please share your experience or thoughts in the comment section below.

Disclaimer: DevWeek provided us with press passes to cover the event.