18 Jun 2026
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AWE Team
AWE USA 2026 Final Day Recap
AWE USA 2026
The final day of AWE USA 2026 opened on the Main Stage with a powerful lineup of thought-provoking sessions. Programming began with "The Wild West of Storytelling", a panel featuring Travis Cloyd from the California Institute of the Arts, Deborah Worrell of Observe Media, and acclaimed actor and futurist Billy Zane representing The Convergence Lab. The conversation explores the gap between Hollywood legacy workflows and interactive entertainment, exploring how narrative structures adapt when moving into spatial worlds.
Talk recording is available here
Immediately following, Bilawal Sidhu from TED Conferences analyzed the democratization of geospatial data and argued that the traditional intelligence monopoly over advanced mapping is effectively over. Sidhu then remained on stage to moderate a highly technical panel discussion, "Demystifying World Models." Joined by Matt Miesnieks of a prominent stealth mode AI startup and Sharon Lee from Moonlake AI, the panel detailed how computer vision, reality capture, and AI agents intersect to create real-time, persistent digital twins of physical environments. This heavy professional momentum successfully set a clear collaborative path forward for the global XR and AI ecosystem just before the afternoon's closing ceremonies.
Tracks
The final day across the track rooms featured highly valuable presentations and expert panels. The Developer and Creator tracks focused on powerful iteration tools and spatial computing architectures, while the XR Enablement and Retail & Marketing sessions hosted critical discussions on corporate software integration and commercial deployment strategies. Additionally, the Research & Education track served as an important anchor for academic insights, bridging the gap between emerging workflows, spatial data policy, and digital ethics. For those who missed any of these intensive final-day sessions, recordings will become available on our official YouTube channel over the following weeks to ensure the community can catch up on all the insights.
Final Day on the Expo Floor
The exhibition floor concluded on a high note Thursday, maintaining an active vibe right up until the final closing hours. Activities kicked off early with one last exclusive enterprise and government VIP tour focused on Digital Twins and 3D Environments, led by expert tour guide Dace Campbell. Immediately following these custom walkthroughs, attention of the general public shifted to the Builders Stage from 11:00 AM for the inaugural Art Festival Showcase. This specialized session featured global creators who discussed the inspiration behind their curated projects, including Victor Agulhon and Aurore Kinzonzi detailing Crafting Crimes, Winnie Tsai presenting In The End, and Sönke Kirchhof introducing The Palace, among other boundary-breaking narrative works.
Throughout the final afternoon, considerable lines persisted at several major exhibit booths, particularly around the newly crowned Auggie Award recipients as attendees crowded to test the year's prize-winning configurations. Simultaneously, the Gaming & LBE pavilion saw steady traffic as creators and location-based entertainment operators gathered for final hardware trials and interactive gameplay demonstrations, rounding out a highly productive week of business matchmaking on the show floor.
Grand Finale & Best in Show Awards
The 17th annual convention drew to a memorable close as the community gathered one last time in the Main Stage to celebrate the achievements of the spatial computing industry. Before heading back to all corners of the world, attendees packed the Grand Ballroom for the official AWE USA 2026 Wrap-Up and Best in Show Awards. AWE CEO and co-founder, Ori Inbar, led the final presentation, inviting prominent community members on stage to help hand out the prestigious Best in Show Awards. All presenting companies at AWE 2026 were automatically eligible for the Best in Show Award—no applications or sign-ups needed! The winner is handpicked based on buzz across the show floor, social media chatter, booth traffic, and overall wow-factor.
Here are the winners:
- Best in Show LBE Zone: VR Cave
- Most Impactful Winner: XR Blood Drive by Abbott
- Best in Show Winner: Snapdragon
The ceremony served as a wonderful celebration of the collective ecosystem, leaving everyone inspired for the future before the final load-out began.
Before the show concluded Virtual World Society's Tom Furness and Alvin Graylin handed out the Nextant Awards:
- Rising star prize: Caitlin Krause
- Legacy Prize: Dr. Walter Greenleaf
What’s Next? Stay Connected!
While AWE USA 2026 comes to a close, the XR journey continues:
- Session recordings are on the way—subscribe to our YouTube channel to catch anything you missed or rewatch your favorites.
- United XR Europe returns to Brussels this December—secure your spot at Europe’s most collaborative XR gathering.
- AWE Asia 2027 returns to China next August
- Super early bird tickets for AWE USA 2027 are already live—grab yours now for the best deal.
- Stay in the loop with The Weekly Spatial—your go-to source for XR & AI updates, industry news, and upcoming events.
- Follow us on social: LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, X and YouTube
Thank you!
A heartfelt thank you to our speakers, exhibitors, partners, and especially our sponsors for powering another impactful year of AWE. And to the thousands who joined us in Long Beach—whether for the first time or the 17th—we’re grateful to have you as part of the community.
