AWE Announces 150 Projects Advance to 'MVP Phase' in $100,000 XR Prize Challenge: Fight Climate Change, Representing 6 Continents In Urgent Worldwide Initiative

Final Round Judges Also Announced; Experts in XR Technology And Climate Science Disciplines Will Choose Winner at AWE 2023 in Santa Clara, CA

NEW YORK, Jan. 24, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Augmented World Expo (AWE), the leading series of worldwide events focused exclusively on the business of augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) all known collectively as XR, today announced that the global metaverse community has enthusiastically responded to the call to action posed by the XR Prize Challenge: Fight Climate Change.

Diverse teams compete; bringing local solutions to the global challenge:

A total of 150 teams from across six continents are applying their prodigious talents to address the impact of climate change through innovative concepts taking advantage of both AR and VR technologies. 

These teams, representing a spectrum of academic, individual and corporate participants, have now advanced to the MVP phase of the competition to compete for a cash prize of $100,000 US. The winning team will be announced on June 1, 2023 at AWE 2023 in Santa Clara, CA.

Examples of projects include topics ranging from:

• Specific solutions for targeted regions & issues local to the teams
• The role of indigenous populations in climate solutions
• Optimizing industries such as manufacturing, design and construction
• Clean energy solutions
• Air and water quality initiatives
• Biodiversity
• Sustainability in farming, cooking and shopping

"This overwhelming response demonstrates both the strength of this passionate community and also the urgency of the climate change problem facing us collectively as a species," said Ori Inbar, Co-founder of AWE. "Our goal with this significant cash prize is to inspire XR developers, academics and companies alike to focus their talents towards humanity's number one existential threat: climate change. To have 150 teams participating at this level is a victory by itself - let a thousand flowers bloom!"

"It is inspiring and humbling to see so many creative and diverse concept proposals harnessing XR in the fight against climate change. We are looking forward to experiencing these ideas as competitors further develop them in the MVP round!" said Dace Campbell, XR Prize Challenge Competition Manager.

After a comprehensive review of potential candidates, the XR Prize's panel of judges is now being announced, featuring world-leading experts in immersive technology, sustainability and climate science, ensuring winning projects are impactful and meaningful applications of XR.

The selection panel of expert judges:

• Katerina Cizek, Peabody- and Emmy-winning Artistic Director and co-Founder of the Co-Creation Studio, MIT Open Documentary Lab
• Robert Fine, Executive Director and Founder of IVRHA (International Virtual Reality and Healthcare Association)
• Marina Psaros, Head of Sustainability at Unity Technologies and author of The Atlas of Disappearing Places: Our Coasts and Oceans in the Climate Crisis
• Dr. Erika Woolsey, Marine biologist, National Geographic Explorer, XR Creator, Visiting Scholar at the Stanford University Virtual Human Interaction Lab, and Chief Scientist & CEO, The Hydrous

About the AWE community and events:

AWE USA 2023 convenes from May 31 - June 2, in Santa Clara, CA; with Super Early Bird pricing is still available for interested attendees, visit https://tickets.awexr.com/usa-2023.

AWE offers an endless stream of online webinars and local meetups in 30+ cities around the world at https://www.awe.live/, as well as:

• High-quality educational classes and workshops with the best instructors from the XR community - for the XR community
• Free access to the largest collection of free videos of talks and webinars in AR & VR
• The XR industry's most prestigious and long-standing awards competition - The Auggie Awards.

AWE (Augmented World Expo) is the world's leading AR+VR conference and expo with events in the USA, Asia, the Middle East, and Europe. AWE events consistently bring together a mix of CEOs, CTOs, designers, developers, creative agencies, futurists, analysts, investors and top press in a unique opportunity to learn, inspire, partner and experience firsthand one of the most exciting industries of our times.

All trademarks and registered trademarks previously cited are hereby recognized and acknowledged. For more information, please contact AWE PR Counsel Jonathan Hirshon at [email protected]

SOURCE AWE