Announcing the Winners of the 2019 SXSW Interactive Innovation Awards

Tonight the 22nd annual SXSW Interactive Innovation Awards celebrated the 2019 Finalists and Winners.

Beginning in June of 2018, innovators and creators from around the world entered their new projects to vie for top honors and the opportunity to showcase their work in front of SXSW attendees and Innovation Awards judges.

Congratulations to all the 2019 winners!

2019 Interactive Innovation Awards 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, New York, USA
  

Health, Med, & BioTech

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

• Butterfly iQ by Butterfly Network, Guilford, Connecticut, USA
  

Innovation in Connecting People

Honoring the most forward-thinking ways to connect and communicate with others.

• Living First Languages Digital Platform by The Australian Literacy and Numeracy Foundation, Edgecliff, New South Wales, Australia
  

Music & Audio Innovation

Honoring the most innovative devices or services that change and improve the way we listen to, compose 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, New York, USA
  

Robotics and Hardware

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

• My Special Aflac Duck™ by Aflac, Sproutel, Carol Cone On Purpose & The Nation of Artists, Los Angeles, California, 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, United Arab Emirates
  

Social & Culture Impact

Honoring the best new projects and technologies that focus on social and 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, California, 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, Massachusetts, USA
  

Student Innovation

Honoring exceptional student projects and startups that focus on interactive technology for the future.

• Graphene Brain-Computer Interface by Brane Interface, Austin, Texas, USA
  

Style & Wearable Tech

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

• The Eargo Max Hearing Aid by Eargo, Mountain View, California, 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 breakthroughs in augmented, virtual and mixed reality technology including the application of new hardware or software which truly make the virtual a reality.

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

Special Honors

• Breakout Trend of the Event – Confronting an Era of Digital Distrust

• People’s Choice Award – My Special Aflac Duck™

• Best of Show – Butterfly iQ

• Interactive Hall of Fame – Honoring those exceptional trailblazers whose work has helped shape the connected world and who continue to guide the direction of the digital industry. Learn about our 2019 Hall of Fame Inductee, Founder and CEO of Black Girls CODE, Kimberly Bryant.

• David Carr Prize – Jordan Holtzer, UCLA School of Law | Class of 2019 (Read winning essay)

2019 Winners

2019 Interactive Innovation Awards Winners - Photo by Miguel Esparza