In November 2021, I had the opportunity to go to the Santa Clara Convention Center in California and to interview Ori Inbar, the CEO & Co-founder of AWE. In May 2020, in the middle of the Covid Pandemic, Ori had “foreseen the future” and re-set the dates for the first in-person return of AWE to November 2021.
But how did Ori Inbar know that the event was actually going to take place? On that occasion, Ori Inbar really did manage to predict the future!
It was not an easy task to participate in AWE 2021 coming from Europe.
The United States Government had blocked the entry for Schengen Area residents which made purchasing a plane ticket very complicated, primarily because the opening date for EU travelers to the US was unclear.
Airline tickets were moved, resold and repurchased, hotels booked, then unbooked and rescheduled on new dates… an enormous amount of documentation had to be presented for each country that we would have crossed during the long journey…and how many swabs for Covid we had to endure!
Vaccine, antigen buffer, PCR… obstacles appeared constantly. But we persevered and managed to participate in AWE USA 2021… and how thrilling it was to see the “virtual” people we had talked to for months finally in person!!!
It was an adventure that was well worth it.
During the event, there were many interviews conducted. (View here on the AWE Youtube Channel.)
Participating companies were given the chance to tell their story and present their products in brief video interviews. Additionally, many proponents and visionaries of the XR world were interviewed.
Today, I’m highlighting my interview with Ori Inbar, the CEO & Co-founder of AWE.
You can find it below (including reference points of the questions I posed to him.)
0:00:00 – CECILIA LASCIALFARI: In May, at the end of AWE2020, you futuristically predicted that AWE 2021 would take place in November. What made you choose November as the date for the event? How do you predict the future?
0:01:02 – ORI INBAR: Answer
0:02:31 – CECILIA LASCIALFARI: Hi Ori, it’s a pleasure to interview you! You predicted that by 2020, active users in the XR sector would grow exponentially. Can we say that this prediction has largely come true too?
0:02:47 – ORI INBAR: Answer
0:04:23 – CECILIA LASCIALFARI: How long will it still take before the industrial sector uses the full potential of the XR sector?
0:04:32 – ORI INBAR: Answer
0:06:29 – CECILIA LASCIALFARI: Do you really think glasses are the breakthrough for AR technology?
0:06:37 – ORI INBAR: Answer
0:08:36 – CECILIA LASCIALFARI: In the last two years, the AWE Nite has also changed functionality. From local events that only brought people together physically, they have morphed into digital events that can broaden their audience to an international audience. How much has the period we just lived with Covid influenced this change in the importance of AWE Nites in the world?
0:09:06 – ORI INBAR: Answer
0:11:27 – CECILIA LASCIALFARI: When will AWE 2022 be? Can you also tell us the date of AWE Asia? And when will AWE return to Europe?
0:11:39 – ORI INBAR: Answer
0:13:31 – CECILIA LASCIALFARI: What are your next projects? Forecast for the future?
0:13:35 – ORI INBAR: Answer
0:15:04 – CECILIA LASCIALFARI: Best wishes for a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year
For More information about AWE: https://www.awexr.com/
Are you interested in joining me at an upcoming AWE Nite Florence event for an interview on the work you are doing in the XR world? Write to me and join me on the AWE Community stage.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!
Cecilia is also an artist, photographer, videomaker, community manager and International Journalist. She is the organizer of AWE Nite Florence and she is the Italian Representative for Artivive.
Cecilia is a member of the Italian Association for Artificial Intelligence (AIxIA is a member of the EurAI/ECCAI) which includes professionals from the most important research institutions and Italian universities.
Cecilia created a project called “Flying Into The Metaverse Through Books & Culture”, which is a series of interviews with the most important professionals in the XR field and manages an online Journal called ARea6DoF, registered to the Italian Court, where she writes the articles about the different topics she is concerned with.