• by Laurie Sullivan , Staff Writer @lauriesullivan, June 12, 2017

Google is giving developers a chance to win a trip to Google I/O 2018, and more than 20 other prizes. The Google Developer Challenge focuses on Actions and the ability to build Google Assistant apps in Actions within 30 minutes using the API.AI. The apps can be used by anyone with access to the Assistant on Google Home and eligible mobile devices.

Judges will evaluate and score each app based on creativity, relevance, quality, and usage. The Google Assistant team, from engineers to product managers and user interface specialists, will judge entries.

Sachit Mishra, developer programs engineer at Google, in a video on YouTube details how to use the kit. He points to the assistant app, similar to the one used in Facts about Google sample hosted on GitHub. It tells users the facts about either Google's history or its headquarters, whichever the user prefers.

The first-place winner gets a trip to Google's headquarters, tickets to Google I/O 2018; $10,000; and the chance to explore the campus and meet with the Google Assistant team. The second-place winner gets $7,500 and a Google Home. The third-place winner gets $5,000 and a Google Home.

Google will also give away $5,000 in cash for the best app by a student or student team. There will be five winners selected in this category. The best Easter egg category, the app with the most interesting yet unexpected functions, will win $1,500 in cash,

Categories also include most fund distraction, best sound effects, best persona, crowd favorite, best voice only interaction, best parenting app, most adaptive app, best life hack, best API.AI app, best converse.ai app, and best DashBot-powerred app.

The contest officially opened at Google I/O, but Google's reminding developers to be eligible the app must be approved by Aug. 31. Google says it could take several submissions before the product gets approved. They will hold the judging in September and winners announced during the fourth quarter in 2017.