Amazon Announces Winners of the Alexa Skills Challenge for Life Hacks

The $20,000 Grand-prize winner of Amazon’s Alexa Skills Challenge: Life Hacks is Mommy-Gram, a way for parents and kids to be connected, even when apart, said the tech company Friday. With the skill, kids can speak their message to Mom, it arrives as a text message and Mom can respond in the form of a notification back to the device, Amazon said. The tech company also awarded $5,000 prizes for Calm Now, with calming techniques; “Chop Chop,” a hands-free kitchen companion for Echo Show and Spot with video tutorials on chopping fresh produce; a poetry skill for Echo Show and Spot; a work break skill for home workers; a skill combining housecleaning and exercise tips; and a skill for Slack, allowing users to read, react and reply to messages by voice.