The South by Southwest® (SXSW®) Conference and Festivals (March 8-17, 2019) recognized the most exciting tech developments in the world with its 22nd annual SXSW Interactive Innovation Awards ceremony Monday evening.

Chicago-bred comedian and writer Beth Stelling emceed this year’s ceremony, which celebrated finalists’ and winners’ multifaceted and diverse ecosystem of technological achievements and creative work.

Thirteen awards and six special honors, including Best of Show, People’s Choice, Breakout Trend of the Event, Speaker of the Event, Meme of the Year and the David Carr Prize, were presented to esteemed innovators for exceptional work spanning categories from AI & Machine Learning, to the ever-evolving world of Smart Cities, Transportation & Delivery, Music & Audio Innovation, Health, Med, & BioTech, Speculative Design, and more.

 

Awarded for the best essay submitted from high school, undergrad, or graduate students, Jordan Holtzer was this year’s recipient of the David Carr Prize. Created in 2016 to honor the late David Carr, a friend and great contributor to SXSW and the journalistic community, Holtzer’s essay was written based on the writing prompt 2050, Warmer Global Temperatures will Lead to…

 

Honoring those exceptional innovators whose work has helped shape the connected world and who continue to guide the direction of the digital industry, this year’s eight SXSW Interactive Hall of Fame inductee was Kimberly Bryant, Founder and CEO of Black Girls CODE, a non-profit organization dedicated to changing the face of technology by introducing girls of color to the field of technology and computer science with a concentration on entrepreneurial concepts.

A panel of judges comprised of industry peers and experts selected the winners based on four criteria: creativity, form, function and overall experience, except for the People’s Choice Award. SXSW Interactive attendees voted for the People’s Choice Award at the second annual Innovation Award Finalist Showcase on Saturday, March 9, where the 65 finalists had the opportunity to exhibit and demo their work.

“The Interactive community would like to congratulate this year’s winners for their exciting work and break-through innovations,” said Hugh Forrest, Chief Programming Officer, SXSW. “We look forward to many upcoming achievements from the 2019 SXSW Interactive Innovation Awards winners.”

As I revisited HBO’s SXSWestworld website I discovered an easter egg I had not known about before. If you attempt to grab a screenshot (on a Mac (Command + Shift) You will get a distorted disturbing alternative message.

“Your world was built for me. People like me. Not for you.”

2019 SXSW INTERACTIVE INNOVATION AWARD WINNERS:

 

AI & Machine Learning

Honoring digital systems which have the ability to adapt to changing data, stimuli, and circumstances; replicating learning, problem solving, and cognition.

• iN: Cognitive Patient Care Assistant by Inspiren | New York, NY, USA

Health, Med, & BioTech

Honoring the new technology that best improves the quality, efficacy, and cost-effectiveness of prevention, diagnosis, treatment, and care in health and medicine.

• Butterfly iQ by Butterfly Network | Guilford, CT, USA

Innovation in Connecting People

Honoring the best new way to connect and communicate with others.

• Living First Languages Digital Platform by The Australian Literacy and Numeracy Foundation | Edgecliff, NSW, Australia

Music & Audio Innovation

Honoring 2019’s best device or service that changes and improves the way we listen to and enjoy music.

• nuraphone – A Self-Learning Headphone by nura | Melbourne, Australia

New Economy

Honoring those redefining the exchange of goods and services, from the sharing economy, to virtual currency, to micro-finance, to mobile-device-payment systems, and beyond.

• Biometric Payments & Age Validation by CLEAR | New York, NY, USA

Robotics and Hardware

Honoring the hottest new advances in the field of robotics & hardware.

• My Special Aflac Duck™ by Aflac, Sproutel, Carol Cone On Purpose & The Nation of Artists | Los Angeles, CA, USA

Smart Cities, Transportation & Delivery

Honoring innovations in eco-friendly or sustainable energy, transportation, delivery and IoT technology, making life in the connected world a smarter, cleaner, greener, and more efficient Internet of Everything.

• Dubai Paperless Strategy by Smart Dubai | Duabi, UAE

Social & Culture Impact

Honoring the best new projects and technologies that focus on social & cultural impact and encourage communities and individuals to participate in and contribute to the betterment of society.

• Aira – Visual Interpreter for the Blind by Aira | San Diego, CA, USA

Speculative Design

Honoring the best new work that uses design to re-think products, systems and worlds and address the challenges, opportunities and possibilities of the future.

• Argus: A Water Monitoring Plant by Parsons School of Design, The New School, New York | Cambridge, MA, USA

Student Innovation

Honoring the student with an exceptional interactive technology project or startup; both of which are the future.

• Graphene Brain-Computer Interface by Brane Interface | Austin, TX, USA

Style & Wearable Tech

Honoring content creation and delivery that moves beyond passive viewership by providing a more immersive and engaging entertainment experience.

• The Eargo Max Hearing Aid by Eargo | Mountain View, CA, USA

Visual Media Experience

Honoring content creation and delivery that moves beyond passive viewership by providing a more immersive and engaging entertainment experience.

• HBO’s SXSWestworld by Giant Spoon | New York, New York USA

VR, AR & MR

Honoring the new hardware that revolutionizes the convenience, comfort, functionality, efficiency, and fashion of having a device literally “on you.”

• Fundamental Surgery by FundamentalVR | New York, NY, USA

 

Special Honors

David Carr Prize

• Jordan Holtzer

Breakout Trend of the Event

• Confronting an Era of Digital Distrust

People’s Choice Award

• My Special Aflac Duck™ by Aflac, Sproutel, Carol Cone On Purpose & The Nation of Artists | Los Angeles, CA, USA

 

  Best In Show

• Butterfly iQ by Butterfly Network | Guilford, CT, USA

For a complete list of SXSW Interactive Innovation Award finalists and winners, visit the following: https://www.sxsw.com/awards/interactive-innovation-awards/.