AWE Asia 2023 concluded today in Singapore after two days of bringing together Asia’s top XR experts, companies, press, and enthusiasts. AWE Asia 2023 is Asia’s leading XR conference, dedicated to reinforcing Asia’s position at the forefront of digital innovation and creating space for the XR community to learn, connect, and grow.
Each day kicked off with two keynote speakers, starting with Dr. Mark Billinghurst from the University of Australia. Dr. Billinghurst captivated the audience with his cutting-edge research about empathic tele-existence, where users can physiologically experience being in another person’s body. Alvin Wang Graylin, HTC’s Global VP of Corporate Development, presented next on the metaverse’s potential risks to society juxtaposed against its enormous potential to unify people globally (coined “di-globalization”), especially when powered by AI. On the second day, IEEE Standards Association President Yu Yuan continued the discussion on AI-metaverse synergies, revealing how AI is actually scaling metaverse development and vice versa to redefine digitalization. Finally, Ikhwan Cho and Terry Schussler from SK Telecom and Deutsche Telekom shared the global launch of ifland, a global metaverse platform that serves as an unprecedented success story of telco collaborations in the XR space.
Three stages of content sessions featured an impressive lineup of speakers. In his session on investing in XR, venture capitalist Tipatat Chennavasi provided invaluable insight on what makes a startup successful in an XR-centric world. Dr. Yujia Gao, Assistant Group Chief Technology Officer at the National University Health System, shared his valuable contributions on holomedicine, a next-generation integrated medical platform.
Several panel discussions also highlighted unique partnerships and ecosystems. One such session gathered Leticia Jauregui (Head of Global Education Partnerships at Meta), Emilie Joly (CEO of Zoe Immersive), Sarah Toms (Chief Learning Innovation Officer at IMD), and Jeremy Luisier (Senior Technical Trainer at Unity Technologies) to share how AI will enhance immersive education. Another integrated opinions from OEMs, investors, and developer platforms on how to build a richer XR ecosystem in Asia, featuring Effie Li (CEO of EnlightXR), Martand Srivastava (AR/VR Lead at Lenovo),Yi Xu (Director of XR Technology at OPPO) Arthur Chen (General Partner at Ameba Capita), and T K Ng (CEO of SFX Corporation).
The expo hall proved to be full of exciting and dynamic developments in XR technology as well, from AI tools to engaging hardware solutions to brand new software applications. Thank you to all of our exhibitors, including XPANCEO, Dispelix, Immersal, Niantic, and the K-Metaverse pavilion, which was sponsored by the National IT Industry Promotion Agency (NIPA) and featured six companies including Lita, Salin, Dataking, Emotionwave, Dooribun, and P&C Solution. During the closing ceremony, three exhibitors were presented with the AWE Asia 2023 Auggie Awards. A huge congratulations to our winners: Lita from K-Metaverse (Best Application), Metavista 3D (Best Innovation), and Immersal (Best in Show).
Thank you once again to all sponsors, exhibitors, speakers, volunteers, and attendees at AWE Asia 2023 for making this event possible. We look forward to seeing you all next year!
