MackNeXT, a developer of VR, film, branding and storytelling and provider of solutions for the media and entertainment industry, has selected the best innovations in the field of mixed realities.
MackNeXT is pleased to announce the winners of this year’s AUREA Awards, following a ceremony at Europa-Park on 16 January 2020 and an international conference on AR and VR technology. The top-class jury selected four projects from a list of 10 finalists.
The event was moderated by Alexander Mazza and Oscar winner Gerd Nefzer, and the jury was chaired by Kathleen Cohen (The Collaboratorium). Also present on the jury were Thomas Wagner (Co-Founder & Managing Director VR Coaster), Fred Lecompte (Co-Founder of BackLight and previous year’s winner), Cathy Hackl (Enterprise Partner Marketing, Magic Leap) and Frank Govaere (Animation Director, Producer & VFX-Supervisor, UFA).
The four winners were chosen from the categories of Experience, Influence, Innovation and Interaction. Over 120 submissions were made ahead of the awards.
Great potential for AR and VR
Many well-respected experts spoke at the second AUREA Awards, including Nefzer, who received an Oscar in 2018 in the category of ‘Best Visual Effects’. Minister of State for Digital, Dorothee Bär, also presented a personal video message, talking about the importance of such an award in a young industry.
Michael Mack, the Managing Director of MackNeXT, spoke about the potential for success of VR and AR technology: “No other medium can bring stories, and even whole worlds, to life in this way and make them tangible for people. There are no limits to this technology.”
The winners
In the category of ‘Interaction’, the prize was awarded to Hologate, for its latest VR project the multiplayer motion simulator, Hologate BLITZ, which is already entertaining audiences worldwide. The award in the ‘Innovation’ area was presented to Volucap, a start-up which has developed technology offering people the chance to move freely around a walk-in film.
‘The 1944 Paris Insurrection’ received the award in the ‘Influence’ category. The French company behind this makes it possible for audiences to immerse themselves in the Paris catacombs. And finally, the jury selected Holoride in the category of ‘Experience’. This makes every car ride a unique gaming experience for passengers using VR headsets.
Europa-Park is itself a pioneer in the field of theme park VR. In September 2015, it was the first park in the world to present a virtual reality experience on the roller coaster ‘Alpenexpress Coastiality’. Since then, it has also added another innovative VR coaster experience with ‘Eurosat – Coastiality’, a ride that has won several awards.
attractionsTECH 2020 at ISE
VR Coaster was involved in the judging of these awards, thanks to its co-founder and MD Thomas Wagner. Dennis Gordt, Chief Technical Officer at VR Coaster and Head of Development at Mack Rides is also speaking at attractionsTECH by blooloop at ISE 2020 next month, where he will explore adding AV and multimedia to existing coasters.
Join the Blooloop team and leading experts on 14 February at the Okura in Amsterdam for a fast-paced review of attractions technology trends, followed by a networking lunch.
Blooloop readers can enjoy a 30% discount on tickets by entering code BLP419609. Tickets are available here.
