Germany: Presentation of “AUREA Awards” for Innovative VR Applications for the Entertainment Industry
Michael Mack (3.v.r.) mit den diesjährigen Preisträgern und Jury-Mitgliedern der AUREA Awards
The “AUREA Awards”, initiated by Michael Mack and MackNeXT, were presented for the second time to companies for innovative solutions in the fields of Augmented and Virtual Reality (AR & VR) technology. Last week, the official award ceremony took place at the Europa-Park. Among the over 120 submissions, ten finalist were invited to present their applications to an international jury, spearheaded by Kathleen Cohen (founder of the The Collaboratorium innovation agency for the leisure and entertainment business). Other members of the jury committee were Thomas Wagner (VR Coaster), Fred Lecompte (BackLight), Cathy Hackl (Magic Leap) and Frank Govaere (UFA).
The Aurea Award was presented in four categories: In the category of “interaction”, German company Hologate received an award for their all-new “Hologate Blitz” multiplayer motion simulator. In the category of “innovation”, the Aurea Award was conferred to Babelsberg (Germany)-based start-up company Volucap, which created a sophisticated film experience allowing guests to virtually “step in” the movie.
The inventors of “The 1944 Paris Insurrection” VR experience received the “Impact” Aurea Award for enabling guests to immerse themselves into the time of the liberation of the French capital. In the category of “best experience”, Munich-based Holoride was honoured for its product turning car rides for passengers into a gaming experience through the use of tracked VR headsets.
The jury and Michael Mack, CEO of Europa-Park and Managing Director of MackNeXT, were impressed by the diversity of the inventions: “No other medium is able to bring stories and even whole fantastic worlds to life in such a way, making them tangible for people. There are no limits to this technology,” said Mack. (eap)
