We are less than two weeks away from the year’s most exciting Augmented, Virtual and Mixed Reality event, with the final touches being put together for AWE USA 2022 where the XR community is going to be welcomed once again at the Santa Clara Convention Center from June 1-3.
As always, speakers and exhibitors from leading companies from across the XR industry will be in attendance, including Epic Games, Google, HP, Magic Leap, Meta, Microsoft, Niantic, NVIDIA, Qualcomm, Unity, Varjo and many more. In addition to this, there will be a packed Expo Floor, as well as the AWE Playground, both offering attendees the chance to try out hands-on experiences with the latest and best in AR, VR and MR technology.
However, one aspect of the event that we always look forward to at AWE USA are the industry-renowned Auggie Awards, the results of which are highly anticipated by both exhibitors and attendees alike.
The Auggie Awards, also known as “The Auggies,” are the XR industry’s most prestigious awards that celebrate both companies and individuals and the innovative XR solutions that they have put out over the past year.
In terms of how the Auggie Awards work, companies and individuals register their XR product or solution early in the year and begin an application to be included in the nomination process. Submitted products or projects can be based on any kind of technology, i.e., for the web, a personal computer, a mobile handheld device, smart glasses, and wearables, a projection system, or any software or hardware platform broadly available to the public.
Submissions are posted on the AWE website and once the nomination period closes, a round of public voting takes place – usually from early April until early May each year (although things were slightly different for AWE USA 2021 as a result of the event’s timing due to COVID-19).
The winners of the public vote are then put through as finalists, where their submissions are then judged by an expert panel of impartial judges, who judge submissions based on their quality, their impact, as well as overall user experience.
Based on the judging panel, the winners are announced on stage at AWE USA on the second day of the event. As well as being crowned winner of their respective category, winners also receive a coveted Auggie Award trophy, a one of a kind piece of art created by artist Sigal Arad Inbar.
One great thing about the Auggie Awards is that it’s not just Tier 1 organizations or big name brands that always win either. Winners from previous years have come from all stages of the business cycle, from indie developers and small start-ups to large corporations, established organizations and Fortune 500 companies. The beauty of the Auggies is that they offer the perfect place for celebrating innovation across the entire spectrum of the XR industry. It really is an award ceremony where the entire community can come together and get involved to either participate as nominees, or to celebrate ingenuity and appreciate all the submissions as public voters.
Categories and Finalists
There are now a total of 15 categories for which companies and individuals can be nominated, covering a range of different aspects of the XR industry. The categories for the Auggie Awards, along with this year’s finalists are as follows:
To see all winners across all categories for the last three years, click here.
There are also four further categories that are only chosen during the AWE USA event that cover: Best in Show: Augmented Reality; Best in Show: Virtual Reality; Startup to Watch; and the AWEsome Award.
Finally, a huge congratulations to all of this year’s finalists. As much as there is only one award to be handed out for each category, you are all winners in the eyes of the community, which has deemed your Augmented, Virtual and Mixed Reality products and solutions worthy of praise and recognition.
Judges are now working hard and evaluating all finalists and their submissions, and winners will be announced on June 2nd at AWE USA 2022. We look forward to seeing you at this year’s Auggie Awards ceremony, so if you haven’t already got your tickets to AWE USA 2022, make sure you don’t miss out and click below!