From June 17-20, the Long Beach Convention Center in California buzzed with excitement as the Augmented World Expo (AWE) took place, attracting thousands of XR enthusiasts, professionals, and innovators. The event was nothing short of a proverbial XR firehose, with a plethora of sessions that catered to a wide range of interests and industries. Attendees could choose from various tracks, including Enterprise, Creators, Retail & Marketing, Developers, Gaming, Entertainment & Media, AI & Virtual Beings, Healthcare & Wellness, Collaboration, Training & Education, Web3, and XR Policy (Ethics, Environment, Privacy). Additionally, the Expo Stage hosted pitch sessions for start-ups and investors, providing a platform for new ideas and partnerships to flourish.
My personal journey at AWE focused on delving into the latest advancements and applications within the XR realm. In particular, I was keen to explore the groundbreaking developments in the following categories:
- Apple Vision Pro
- Digital Twins / 3D Objects / Photogrammetry
- E-commerce / Entertainment / Sports
Join me as I unpack the key insights and innovative breakthroughs from these exciting areas at AWE 2024.
Day 0: Pre-Conference Apple Vision Pro Workshop
The day before the official start of the conference, I attended an Apple Vision Pro workshop which, despite its title, featured panel discussions rather than hands-on activities. The event was presented in partnership with Unity. Topics ranged from highlights from WWDC ‘24 to insights from founders who used Unity to launch their apps on AVP. There were two 30 minute sessions presented by developers. James Ashley, an XR developer from CVS Health Immersive labs, discussed a comparison of developing with native Swift versus Unity (highlighting cost efficiency with native development) and recommended Kodeco and XRBootcamp.com for more resources. Dulce Baerga, a WebXR developer, presented a great talk on WebXR, offering a QR code for additional resources. Daniel Marqusee, an XR UX designer, challenged traditional design paradigms, telling us that we need to think spatially when designing apps for the AVP. He’s got a YouTube channel and is definitely worth following. If these 3 folks were allowed a full day workshop, I would have given this day 5 stars.
However, the lack of technical depth and practical guidance on designing, building, and optimizing applications for AVP was disappointing. The workshop lacked hands-on demonstrations, IDE insights, and guidance on publishing for AVP compared to other VR/AR platforms.
| ARKit | RealityKit4 | Immersive Environment Authoring |
| Plane detection in all orientations Room & object tracking Portal enhancements Reality Composer Pro timelines | Inverse kinematics skeletal poses low level mesh and texture apis | Video player docking video reflections hand brightness Reverb Shareplay |
Day 1 Highlights
A Special Entrance
Day 1 at the Augmented World Expo 2024 kicked off with a touch of Hollywood glamour. Attendees were greeted outside the Long Beach Convention Center with a red carpet featuring an “XR Walk of Stars” experience. This innovative display, built using Snap AR’s Camera Kit SDK, allowed visitors to interact with the environment, setting an exciting tone for the event.
Keynote by Ori Inbar
The opening keynote was delivered by none other than Ori Inbar, known for his captivating and tech-savvy presentations. This year, he did not disappoint. In a remarkable blend of past and future, Inbar introduced an AI-generated version of himself from previous years, reflecting on his past predictions and their accuracy.
One standout highlight from his keynote was the comparison of the Meta Quest’s sales trajectory to that of the iPhone, illustrating the rapid growth and mainstream acceptance of XR technology.
Inbar also shared compelling market insights, revealing that the enterprise sector currently dominates the XR market. According to Consumer and Enterprise Estimations by ARtillery Intelligence (May 2024), the enterprise segment holds a commanding 71% share, valued at $35 billion in 2024. This figure is projected to rise significantly, reaching $44 billion in 2025, $56 billion in 2026, and an impressive $70 billion by 2027.
Creating Immersive Futures: Qualcomm Announcements
- Qualcomm AI Hub, XR Sports Alliance (Accedo, HBS, Qualcomm) for Immersive Sports Experiences
- Snapdragon spaces: enterprise, training, sports and entertainment, education, health and wellness, social and gaming.
Expanding All Your Worlds: Meta
- Meta Quest Lifestyle App Accelerator
Advancing Snap AR with Generative AI : Snap
Demo’d new AR lenses that are AI powered. 350k lense creators . Rolling it out slowly, first to influencers. Page Piskin joined Snap on stage to speak on behalf of creators.
Niantic
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Niantic Announcements
- Spatial Computing Needs a New Map – Building the next generation 3d map to power spatial computing. Niantic has goals of “planet-scale AR”. From their website “With Niantic Lightship, Niantic Studio and Scaniverse, we’ve opened up our platform to provide developers with the most comprehensive tools and services for building real-world AR experiences.”
- Throughout the convention center, Niantic had installments where you could play with their tools. One that I found particular interesting was Scaniverse, a photogrammetry app. I couldn’t wait to get home to play with this app. (Here’s my LinkedIn post featuring a scan of Jabba the Hut)
Meet the Authors! “Our Next Reality: How the AI-powered Metaverse Will Reshape the World”
Fortuitously, I ran into both authors, Alvin Wang Graylin (Global VP Corp Development, HTC) & Louis Rosenberg (CEO & Chief Scientist, Unanimous AI). I proudly showed them that I was on chapter 8 in my Audible app and they graciously autographed a book title card for me. Alvin has a YouTube presentation on the book.
Other Sessions Attended:
- HOW DIGITAL TWIN TECHNOLOGY WILL TRANSFORM REGIONAL PLANNING – Orlando
Opening Night Kickoff Party
The excitement of Day 1 at AWE 2024 seamlessly transitioned into a vibrant evening celebration. The welcome party, sponsored by Zappar, turned the closed-off area around the Convention Center into a lively block party. Thousands of AWE attendees gathered in a space adorned with luxurious furniture and club lighting, creating a thumping outdoor club scene.
The night featured several outdoor free-standing bars at which were were able to redeem a free drink ticket, and an array of food trucks, offering a diverse selection of yummy options. A live DJ kept the energy high, spinning tunes that permeated the outdoor space.
Adding a touch of whimsy and sparking conversations were the unique giraffe statues holding chandeliers, an artistic installation that left a lasting impression on everyone who attended. These quirky decorations became the talk of the night, symbolizing the creativity and innovation that AWE is known for.
The Opening Night Kickoff Party was not just a social gathering but a celebration of the XR community, setting the tone for the collaborative and imaginative days ahead.
Day 2 – Update coming soon
XR Hall of Fame Museum
Expo – Update coming soon
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- SIghtful – AR Laptop & QONOQ
- 302 Interactive had an amazing Fanport where they allowed groups of 4 to play fully immersive AR games built with the Magic Leap