When businesses want to see what they can build with Amazon Web Services (AWS), they get their answer inside the AWS Builder Studio, located at Amazon’s newest Manhattan office.
The 8,000 square foot, invite-only space is part showroom, part collaboration space, part prototyping lab. At the Builder Studio, AWS customers and builders get to experience the “art of the possible” and learn about the many different ways AWS technology—including generative AI—can be harnessed.
Photo by Hollis JohnsonNew York City’s AWS Builder Studio is one of only two in the entire U.S. The other, in Santa Clara, California, specializes in autonomous vehicle prototyping.
After customers explore the wide variety of interactive products and tools, all built on AWS, they can get started on building their own prototypes. Amazon’s Prototyping and Cloud Engineering (PACE) team helps them work backwards from specific business outcomes to jointly build a working prototype and meet those goals.
For example, Sumo Logic, a leader in SaaS log analytics, worked with PACE and leveraged AWS services and AI models to automate the creation of remediation advice for security findings. Sumo Logic's story is a testament to the game-changing potential of AI and machine learning on the cloud using generative AI.
Photo by Hollis JohnsonThe centerpiece of the Builder Studio, the Innovation Showroom, has more than a dozen hands-on products and demos on display. Let’s check out the coolest demos.
Meet eerily realistic holograms of people and objects
When you walk in through the front door, one of the first things you’ll notice is a big, 7-foot display installed to welcome visitors. Standing inside the display, a hologram of Heidi Buck, senior manager of the prototyping team, gives a personal greeting to guests.
Photo by Hollis Johnson
Photo by Hollis Johnson
The Proto Epic holographic device delivers crisp, life-sized experiences. Standing in front of it, I felt like I could reach out and touch the objects and people floating in front of me. The Proto can be used for live concerts, retail activations, presentations, transportation displays, and more.
Create unique works of art with generative AI
Generative AI has revolutionized the way we create and enhance images. With multiple AWS services and foundation models working in the background—including AWS Amplify and SageMaker Jumpstart models (Stability.AI and HuggingFace)—this demo shows how easy it is to produce awe-inspiring works of art with minimal prompt input and infrastructure setup.
Photo by Hollis JohnsonBy clicking the screen a few times, I was able to create a cinematic scene of ships and merchants at a pirate port. The demo even generated a thematic haiku for me: Sail ships glide in / Merchants trade at English port / Dreams drift with the tide.
Play foosball and level up your game
Unsurprisingly, the hands-on foosball table is one of the most popular stops on the tour.
Photo by Hollis Johnson
Photo by Hollis Johnson
As opponents go head to head in the fast-paced game, IoT infrared sensors track scores, assists, and other game stats, while a camera records from overhead. Afterward, players can review their performance, evaluate areas for improvement, and listen to AI-generated commentary.
Pick up cold brew from a robot that makes it perfectly every time
Inconsistent coffee brews are no more thanks to this machine. After you tap the kind of cold brew you want, a robotic arm moves smoothly along a line of dispensers and pours you your cup within seconds.
Photo by Hollis Johnson
Computer vision is used to conduct pour quality analysis, while an indicator tracks how much coffee has been served from each tap, how many cups have been poured throughout the day, and how long it takes to receive a single pour. And because all the info is sent to AWS, users can build a dashboard in which others can monitor the arm status and data from anywhere.
Pick customer orders in an Amazon fulfillment center
Photo by Hollis JohnsonI put on a VR headset and was transported to a semi-automated workstation at an Amazon Robotics fulfillment center, where I used my controllers to pick out and move different items. This simulation was developed to train Amazon pickers in a safe, controlled environment before they’re deployed to fulfillment centers.
Amazon’s Worldwide Design and Engineering organization is using VR simulations and motion-tracking tools like these to compare workstation design options, gather data on how people move as they perform tasks, and identify opportunities for ergonomic improvements.
Sit in the middle of the action in a virtual production entertainment center
Put on your best racing face because this demo transports you to the racetrack. AWS technology is streamlining the visual effects process by using time-synchronous capture and bringing effects directly to the camera shot—so production sets don’t have to use a green screen or a tennis ball on a stick to stand in as a character or creature.
Photo by Hollis Johnson
The cameras are also designed so that as soon as shooting wraps, all the content is uploaded into S3, AWS’s object storage service. From visual effects to storage to editing and finishing, all of the workloads needed to put together a film or TV show are conveniently interconnected, allowing for a holistic production and post-production environment. Not only are processes more efficient, but they also make it easier for teams to collaborate globally on the same project.
See how a pair of shoes will look on your feet before you buy them
Photo by Hollis Johnson
Photo by Hollis Johnson
There’s nothing quite like seeing exactly how a new purchase will look on you to make you feel confident in it. Amazon’s augmented reality (AR) feature, available in the Amazon app, helps shoppers try on fashion and beauty products and seamlessly compare different colors and styles before ordering.
At the studio, you can see how easy it is to use Virtual Try-On to shop for sneakers, just one way Amazon is improving the shopping experience.
Generate creative ad campaigns within seconds with generative AI
Powered by AWS Bedrock, Stable Diffusion, and Anthropic AI’s Claude model, this demo accelerates the process of creating advertising assets by months. After inputting the prompt, “sushi for New Yorkers,” it generated multiple images, color schemes, fonts, sounds, and even a tagline to serve as a starting point for a holistic ad campaign.
Photo by Hollis JohnsonExplore live data from an environment
This touch table features what’s called a Digital Twin, an interactive application that overlays data onto a 3D model of an existing physical facility. In this case, the table pulls in IoT sensor data from all the other demos in the room—including humidity, temperature, foot traffic, and dwell time—and shows it on top of a model of the room, letting you move around the studio and explore the live data.
Photo by Hollis Johnson
Adam Chernick is the senior spatial computing solutions architect who built the demo. “What I enjoy most about prototyping is never working on the same problem twice. I love to work backward with customers and our AWS team to build solutions for their pain points. Mixing in emerging technology always lends itself to a fun time,” he said.
See how delivery drivers charge their electric vans
With Amazon planning to bring more than 100,000 electric delivery vehicles on the road by 2030, these smart charging stations are integral to an effective rollout. As Sam You, a customer solutions manager and studio tour guide, explained to me, employees scan their badges on this machine after docking their van and ending their shift.
Photo by Hollis JohnsonThe system knows exactly how many miles the employee needs to drive the next day and will charge the vehicle accordingly. It also knows when to charge in order to optimize for the price of electricity and the makeup of the grid, since the grid is constantly fluctuating.
“Tours let customers see what others have built using AWS services and allow us to talk about how Amazon is strategically investing in things like generative AI and sustainability. The sheer variety of customers I meet, from Brazilian retailers to Swedish SaaS companies, is my favorite part of being a tour guide,” said You.
