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PRNewswire/ South by Southwest has announced the 70 finalists for its 20th annual Interactive Innovation Awards, taking place on Tuesday, March 14 at 7:00 p.m. CDT at the Hilton Austin Downtown (Grand Ballroom, 6th Floor). The SXSW Interactive Innovation Awards celebrates the incredible speakers, trends, innovations, and ideas that are brought to Austin each year. This event is open to all SXSW Interactive, Film, Music and Platinum badgeholders.
New to the Awards ceremony this year is the second annual David Carr Prize, awarded for the best essay submitted from writers, bloggers and journalists. Created last year to honor the late David Carr, a friend and great contributor to SXSW and the journalistic community, the essay topic follows Carrs interest in the convergence of new media, technology, and culture.
The 2017 SXSW David Carr Prize Finalists are:
Mike Armstrong, The Heart of Something Heartless
James Brown, Learning in a Community of Black Boxes
Megan Cole, (no title)
Dan Murrell, Gerald 1.0
Gabriel Wardell, (no title)
The ceremony also will include the induction of Kara Swisher into the SXSW Interactive Hall of Fame. Swisher is the executive editor and co-founder of Recode, host of the Recode Decode podcast, and co-executive producer of the Code Conference series. Swishers career sits at the nexus of whats most important to SXSW Interactive: Innovation and inspiration in the tech industry, and - perhaps more importantly than ever - uncompromisingly honest journalism.
In addition to the Awards ceremony, this years finalists will have the opportunity to exhibit and demo their work at the Interactive Innovation Awards Finalist Showcase on Sunday, March 12 from 11-5 p.m CDT at the Hilton Austin Downtown (Salons C, D, and E, 4th Floor). The Finalist Showcase offers SXSW Interactive, Music, Film, and Platinum badgeholders a first look at the most exciting tech developments, including achievements in digital design, health technology, privacy and security, 3D printing, virtual and augmented reality, plus a chance to place their votes for the Peoples Choice Award. Registered media and official Awards jurists will have exclusive access to the Showcase and finalist demos that morning, from 10-11 a.m. CDT.
We are proud to not only honor the years best, most forward-thinking projects, but to bring that innovation to the fingertips of each and every SXSW conference attendee during the Finalist Showcase, said Hugh Forrest, Chief Programming Officer. Im particularly impressed at how many of these projects are implementing next-generation AI technology. This AI theme is one that will be very strong throughout SXSW 2017.
A panel of judges comprised of industry peers and experts reviewed hundreds of applications to determine this years finalists. Each entry was graded on four criteria: creativity, form, function and overall experience. The Finalist Showcase provides an in-person experience for the judges to complete their second round of voting to determine the winner of all 13 categories, Anyone with a SXSW Interactive, Film, Music and Platinum badge can vote on the Peoples Choice Award at the Finalist Showcase on Sunday, March 12.
The SXSW Interactive Innovation Awards will reveal winners in each of the 13 categories plus six additional honors, including: Best of Show, Peoples Choice, Breakout Trend of the Event, Speaker of the Event and Meme of the Year.
The 2017 SXSW Interactive Innovation Award Finalists are:
HEALTH, MED & BIOTECH
Awarded for the new technology that best improves the quality, efficacy, and cost-effectiveness of prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care in health and medicine
DIY CRISPR Kit by The ODIN, San Francisco, CA
miniPCR by Amplyus, Cambridge, MA
Molekule by Molekule, San Francisco, CA
PRIME Needle Free Injector by Portal Instruments, Cambridge, MA
Voxel Bay by the Research Institute at Nationwide Childrens Hospital, Columbus, OH
INNOVATION IN CONNECTING PEOPLE
Awarded for the best new way to connect and communicate with others
Blendoor by Stephanie Lampkin, San Francisco, CA
REWORD by Leo Burnett Melbourne, Southbank, VIC, AUS
Samsung: Bedtime VR stories by Unit9, London, UK
Sydney Opera House #comeonin by DDB Group Australia, Sydney, NSW, AUS
The Superbook by Sentio, San Francisco, CA
INNOVATIVE 3-DIY
Awarded for making 3D printing technology more accessible or affordable, or to the Maker using such technology in new and exciting ways
3Doodler PRO by 3Doodler, New York, NY
The FormBox by Makyu Industries, London, UK
Miia Truly Personalized CPAP by Metamason, Los Angeles, CA
Onyx One 3D Printer by Markforged Inc., Cambridge, MA
Original Prusa i3 MK2 by Prusa Research, Prague, CZE
MUSIC & AUDIO INNOVATION
Awarded for 2016s best device or service that changes and improves the way we listen to and enjoy music
HOLOPLOT Wave Field Generator by Holoplot GmbH, Berlin, DEU
KSM8 Dualdyne Cardioid Dynamic Vocal Microphone by Shure Inc, Niles, IL
OSSIC X by OSSIC, San Diego, CA
The Sensel Morph by Sensel, Mountain View, CA
Vochlea: Protoyping Music by George Philip Wright, Leeds, UK
NEW ECONOMY
Awarded to 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
Blinker App by Blinker Inc, Denver, CO
Clever Kash by ASB Bank, Auckland, NZL
Funderbeam by Funderbeam, Tallinn, EST
Modos COIN Operated Digital Payments Hub by ModoPayments, Dallas, TX
Tokken: Cashless Cannabis app by Tokken, Denver, CO
PRIVACY & SECURITY
Awarded for 2016s most progressive accomplishment in the way we go about securing our data and ensuring our privacy
Almond 3 Smart Home Wi-Fi System by Securifi, Reno, NV
D3CRYPT3D by PADECA LLC, Chamblee, GA
RedMorph Inc by RedMorph Inc, Cranberry Twp, PA
TunnelBear for macOS and Windows by TunnelBear, Tor
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