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SANTA CLARA, Calif., May 22, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- AWE (Augmented World Expo), the world's largest and longest running conference and expo dedicated to augmented and virtual reality, today announced the list of finalists for the ninth annual Auggie Awards. Celebrating the best-of-the-best in AR+VR, winners will be presented with the prestigious Auggie Award on Thursday, May 31 at the Auggie Awards Ceremony live on stage at AWE USA 2018.

AWE USA 2018 runs May 30-June 1, 2018 at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Silicon Valley. For information, visit https://augmentedworldexpo.com or follow @ARealityEvent on Twitter.

"For almost a decade, AWE has recognized hundreds of exceptionally talented and profoundly influential AR and VR technologists whose work is changing the world," said Ori Inbar, co-founder and executive producer of AWE. "This year's submissions—the largest number in AWE history including many by giant companies —represent an incredibly diverse and competitive assortment of achievements. These finalists illustrate the XR technologies and use cases with the greatest potential to impact our lives."

The annual Auggie Awards have been the most recognized industry AR & VR awards in the world since 2010. Now in its 9th year, the Auggies continue to showcase the best-of-the-best in XR (AR/VR/MR) with this year seeing over 250 nominations in 10 active categories. Past winners include successful companies such as Spin Master, Lowe's, Leap Motion, Meta, Microsoft HoloLens, Zappar, PTC Vuforia and more.

Sixty-four companies and innovators were announced as Auggie Award finalists. The 2018 finalists by category (and in alphabetical order) are:

Best Art or Film sponsored by IEEE Standards Association

• AURORA by Pink Kong Studios
• CAQUETÁ: Alianza con la Naturaleza (CAQUETÁ: Alliance with Nature) by VR Americas LLC
• Charlie Fink's Metaverse, An AR Enabled Guide to VR & AR by Charlie Fink
• Karim & Noor by Blink Studios
• Parabola @ SF Design Week by Heavy Projects

Best Campaign sponsored by PTC Vuforia

• Acura AR Race by Current Studios
• Augmented Passion: Russia World Cup 2018 by VR Americas LLC
• BK Dinos by bizAR Reality
• Fox Movies VR by Creote Studio Limited
• I Caught It AR Cannon NY Jets Campaign by Xperiel
• Johnson Controls HoloLens Product Launch by Vaylian Studios
• Living Wine Labels, Treasury Wine Estates by Tactic

Best Consumer App

• IKEA Place by IKEA
• Markilux 3D - the most sophisticated AR-3D-configurator by ViewAR
• Meo: Your real AR avatar by Meo
• My Austrian Premium Economy by ViewAR
• Pulse-Tech by Pharmaconsult
• Skrite - Social Sky Messages by Skrite Labs Inc.
• Streem by Streem

Best Creator & Authoring Tool sponsored by Microsoft

• AR Designer by Envrmnt by Verizon
• Augmania by Augmanian
• awe (Augmented Web Experiences) by awe.media
• Gravity Sketch by Gravity Sketch
• Lens Studio by Snap Inc. by Snap Inc.
• Studio by PTC

Best Developer Tool sponsored by DAQRI

• AR Navigation by Insider Navigation
• Navisens MotionDNA by Navisens
• Unity by Unity
• ViewAR SDK by ViewAR GmbH
• Vuforia Engine by Vuforia
• Wikitude SDK 7 by Wikitude

Best Enterprise Solutions sponsored by Kopin 

• Ethical Self Brain Hacking by VR Americas LLC
• HiAR Industry by HiScene Information Technology CO., Ltd
• Holoroom Test Drive by Lowe's Innovation Labs
• Proceedix by Proceedix
• Skylight by Upskill
• Volkswagen AR indoor navigation by Volkswagen / Insider Navigation
• VR/AR in Surgery by ARIS MD

Best Game or Toy

• DroneTopolis AR by CircleSquare Entertainment
• HoloTats by Balti Virtual
• Little Hippo AR Books by Little Hippo Books
• MERGE Cube by MERGE
• PuzzlAR: World Tour by Bica Studios
• Red Matter by Vertical Robot
• Star Wars: Jedi Challenge by Lenovo     

Best Headworn Device sponsored by Qualcomm

• Action One by Shadow Creator Information Technology Co.,Ltd.
• DigiLens MonoHUD by DigiLens Inc.
• HiAR G100 by HiScene Information Technology Co., Ltd
• HMT-1 by RealWear
• IQbuds by Nuheara
• PlayStation VR by Sony Interactive Entertainment America
• Toshiba dynaEdge AR Smart Glasses by Toshiba
• Vive Pro by HTC Vive

Best Input & Output Hardware sponsored by Bosch 

• Haptics Digital Signage by Ultrahaptics
• Holo-Stylus by Holo-Light
• Mudra Inspire by Wearable Devices LTD
• R-VISTA70 by RAONTECH
• Sense Glove by Sense Glove
• Simulated Reality by Dimenco    

Best Interaction Software Tool

• Future of VR Storytelling by Quantum Interface
• GeoCV Smart Phone Scanner by GeoCV
• Lumo Play by Lumo interactive
• ManoMotion by ManoMotion
• Superb Reality XR Gesture Control & Hand Tracking software by Superb Reality

All of the finalists have moved on to the final judging round who will select one winner in each category. The esteemed panel of judges includes:

• Abby Albright – Co-Founder, WXR Fund
• David Beard – Product Management, DAQRI
• Hiren Bhinde – Director Product Management (VR/AR), Qualcomm
• Mark Billinghurst – Director, HIT Lab
• Brandon Bray – Principal GRoup Program Manager, Microsoft
• Pearly Chen – Chief of Staff, HTC
• Dr. Hong Choi – Chief Technology Officer, Kopin
• Tom Emrich – Board Member, AugmentedReality.org
• Duffy Fallon – Associate Product Manager, PTC Vuforia
• Tom Furness – Founder, Virtual World Society
• Jay Iorio – Director of Innovation, IEEE Standards Association
• Ori Inbar – Board Member, AugmentedReality.org
• Linda Jacobson – Board of Directors, Virtual World Society
• Phil Keslin – CTO, Niantic
• Dave Lorenzini – Board Member, AugmentedReality.org
• Juergen Lumera – Director of Global Product Management, Bosch
• Brian Mullins – Board Member, AugmentedReality.org
• Justin Quimby – Senior Product Manager, Google AR/VR
• Mark Sage – Executive Director, AR for Enterprise Association (The AREA)
• Tish Shute – Director AR/VR, Corporate Technology Strategy, Huawei
• Brad Weiers – Product Manager, Unity

In addition to honoring winners in these 10 categories, the Auggie Award ceremony at AWE USA 2018 will feature two special awards: the annual Nextant Award presented by The Virtual World Society to honor a pioneer in XR, and the new AWEsome Award to showcase a moonshot concept or prototype straight out of a Sci-Fi novel.

For more information on the Auggie Awards, including the full list of nominations finalist details and submission videos, visit https://augmentedworldexpo.com/auggie-award-finalists/.

At AWE 2018 from May 30 – June 1 at the Santa Clara Convention Center in Silicon Valley, 6,000+ attendees, 250 exhibiting companies and 350+ speakers will engage in hundreds of tech demos, art installations, educational sessions and product launches. Bridging the gap between technology and the human experience, AWE 2018 is the industry event for experiencing hundreds of immersive new worlds and opportunities as presented by the world's most innovative AR+VR companies and creative minds.

Follow AWE on Twitter at @ARealityEvent and the official event hashtag #AWE2018

More about AWE USA 2018
AWE (Augmented World Expo) is the #1 AR+VR conference and expo in the world, showcasing technologies that are augmenting our human capabilities, turning ordinary experiences into the extraordinary, and empowering people to be better at all aspects of work and life. Join more than 6,000 attendees on May 30-June 1, 2018 at the Santa Clara Convention Center.

For more information and to register to attend, please visit www.awe2018.com. Journalists can request a complimentary press pass to AWE USA 2018 by emailing jennifer@lightspeedpr.com.

More about AugmentedReality.ORG
AWE is produced by AugmentedReality.ORG, a 501 (c) (6) non-profit organization. All profits are reinvested in AR.ORG's services. Its mission is to Advance Augmented Reality to Advance Humanity. It's goal: 1 billion active users of AR by 2020.

AR.org facilitates and catalyzes the global and regional transformation of the AR industry by

• Educating and boosting awareness about the real power of AR and VR
• Connecting the best talent around the world with the best in AR and VR
• Hatching AR and VR initiatives and helping bring them to market

SOURCE AWE (Augmented World Expo)