AWE, the longest running and largest event focused on Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality (XR), celebrates its 15th anniversary this year. As part of the celebration, the theme for AWE USA 2024 in Long Beach, CA will be: “Learn from XR’s Past to Shape the Future.”
Highlights for this year will include:
- A XR History Museum – The museum will feature over 80 vintage AR and VR devices from the past 50 years (on loan from industry pioneers), including an experience simulating Ivan Sutherland’s first Head Mounted Display (HMD) from 1968.
- Introducing the AWE XR Hall of Fame – AWE is proud to announce the inauguration of the XR Hall of Fame—a new platform dedicated to honoring the pioneers whose groundbreaking contributions have shaped and propelled the XR industry forward (since 1968 to date). AWE has unveiled the list of the first 101 pioneers to be inducted to the XR Hall of Fame and during the event in June all pioneers in attendance will be celebrated on stage during the Auggie Awards ceremony.
- A Series of XR History Sessions – 14 agenda tracks will include sessions by pioneers about the history of XR as it pertains to each topic.
The XR History Museum will feature over 80 vintage AR and VR prototypes and devices from the past 50 years (on loan from pioneers) such as the 1990 Xybernaut, the 1992 Virtuality Viset 1 (one of the first commercial VR headsets), and including immersive experiences of Ivan Sutherland’s first Head Mounted Display from 1968, and Morton Heilig’s Sensorama – the first multisensory experience.
The XR Hall of Fame list was created by the AWE team with support from many of the pioneers on the list. The criteria for being included on the list is: undisputed, monumental contribution to the advancement of the AR and VR industry, with highest moral standards, from a research perspective in both hardware and software, entrepreneurship, creative & artistic, design and user experience, development of use cases and driving adoption in real world cases, advocacy.
Early Bird tickets are now available, with discounts up to $500 on a 3-day pass, through May 9th for AWE USA 2024. To register for the conference, go here. Attendees can also attend the AWE Vision Workshop, a full day workshop for Apple Vision Pro, taking place on June 17th, the day before AWE kicks off – for an additional cost of $99.
