AWE Asia is a flagship event of the Augmented World Expo (AWE), serving as a crucial platform to unite leading XR companies, investors, and international stakeholders to drive the growth of the XR market in Asia.

After an exciting Day 1 at AWE Asia 2024, I’m thrilled to share my key takeaways from Day 2, where both I and my fellow Thoughtworker Arijit had the opportunity to present as speakers.

Exploring the Metaverse as a Collective Responsibility

Day two kicked off with a brilliant keynote by Alvin Wang (汪丛青) Graylin, author of Our Next Reality. 📕 His book is a treasure trove of research, showcasing AI-powered Metaverse use cases, while co-author Louis Rosenberg offered a compelling critique on the ethical implications of these technologies. As I absorbed their insights, I found deep connections to my own work, 📕 Exploring the Metaverse, which also emphasizes the opportunities, challenges, and collective responsibility in adopting these emerging technologies. It felt like “Exploring the Metaverse is Our Next Reality” was the theme of the day.

I had the pleasure of getting my copy of Our Next Reality signed by Alvin, who also expressed appreciation for my book Exploring the Metaverse. I’m nearly finished with Alvin’s book and look forward to sharing my reflections in next article. In the session, Alvin clearly called that there are two path ahead with these technologies, very bad one or a good one, it’s on us which one we move forward.

Academic Research Fueling the Ecosystem

I attended a fascinating session led by Mark Billinghurst, Director of IVE (Interactive and Virtual Environments) at the University of South Australia. He highlighted his research on developing cross-platform solutions and how multi-modal inputs are increasingly being supported across various platforms. Frank Guan from Singapore Institute of Technology also presented their work on overcoming challenges in integrating AI into XR, such as maintaining processing within the required framerate.

It was inspiring to see such strong participation from academia, including exhibits at the Expo showcasing innovations like remote rendering with 5G technology. This kind of academic-industry collaboration is something I emphasized in my book, Exploring the Metaverse, where I call for a unified effort from academia, industry, individuals, and governments to shape a better future in the Metaverse.

XR as the Ultimate Interface for AI

In a fascinating discussion moderated by Eddie, who is a founder various avenues in XR, he started it with the history of AI and the technology hype cycle. Just as the internet was once dismissed as a passing fad, so too are AI, XR, Metaverse, and Blockchain sometimes misunderstood. Rahul Mishra, who heads Web3 & Immersive Tech Initiatives at Shemaroo, highlighted how companies like Shemaroo are making significant bets on the Metaverse. Megha Chawla, who leads the business development at Nemo Planet, shared insights on the growing XR ecosystem in India, calling for greater investment in this growing market.

I shared Thoughtworks’ approach to value-driven XR adoption, emphasizing how we focus on finding the right ROI rather than force-fitting technology. Our work with Lenovo ThinkReality and other key projects showcases our commitment to engineering excellence in the XR world.

My colleague Arijit Debnath took the stage with an impactful session on spatial design. Drawing from his background in architecture, he boldly stated that many XR designs from the software industry lack true consideration of space. Arijit demonstrated how principles of classical design disciplines—such as architecture—are essential for creating immersive XR experiences.

His hand-drawn sketches beautifully illustrated the convergence of these concepts with today’s needs, earning praise from attendees as some of the best artifacts seen at AWE.

XR Experiences: The Ultimate Reward

The day continued with more hands-on experiences in the exhibition hall, where I explored smart gloves, 4D immersive videos, and more. The variety of showcases was impressive, and I wish I had more time to attend all the sessions and demos. The event concluded with the Auggie Awards, which brought a surge of energy and excitement to the room.

Collaboration and Networking: The Key to Success

AWE Asia proved to be a friendly and collaborative environment, filled with enriching conversations. My discussion with Dhawaj Agrawal from Meta about Reality Labs’ research on XR technology challenges was particularly insightful, India’s growing ecosystem and Meta’s contributions there are exciting, with AI playing a pivotal role in advancing accessible XR solutions.

A big thank you to Hilary Chiu and Olivia Lee for hosting a delightful dinner for some AWE participants. It was a pleasure to discuss the mission of the AllStarsWomen APAC chapter and the importance of building inclusion in technology. I shared insights into how we at Thoughtworks prioritize Diversity & Inclusion, including our Vapsi program, which helps women return to work after a maternity break.

The conversation with Dr. Luke Soon from PwC, Roshan Raju, Founder of Imersive.io, and others was truly engaging, and I look forward to finding synergies in our work. It was also a pleasure to share T-shirts featuring my book cover with some of them. Looking forward to more collaborations in the future!

As the evening was capped off by witnessing the shared values across cultures, exemplified by the beautiful Indian native displays at Marina Bay in Singapore. As Alvin mentioned in the kickoff, when viewed from space, the world has no boundaries.

AWE Asia 2024: An overwhelming experience

AWE Asia 2024 has been an incredibly positive and enriching experience for me. A big thanks and congratulations to David Weeks and the entire team for hosting such a remarkable event.

Let’s stay connected and keep exploring the limitless possibilities of the Metaverse and related technologies together.

Find more pictures of AWE Asia 2024 here.

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