SXSW is an event that celebrates upcoming innovations, prototypes for future, film, and music. For the first time, SXSW 2022 was held in-personand augmented by many online streaming sessions. SXSW gave us a glimpse into future trends and innovationslike Web3 - the main theme that encompasses metaverse, blockchain and NFT topics - XR (VR, AR and more), telepresence, inclusion tech, diversity, healthcare, sustainability and more.

The world is going hybrid. While we couldn’t be there in person, we did however spend hours going through the good stuffs and picked out a couple of great cases to share with you.

/WEB 3

TEZOS: CUSTOMISABLE AR FASHION + NFT

FLEX offers augmented reality (AR) fashion for fashion and sports brands but also targeting consumers rather than just those brands. And with Flex, creators, artists, and brands can develop digital fashion collections as NFTs.

DENTSU GLOBAL CASE

FOOT LOCKER: MARK OF GREATNESS

‘House of Hoops Mark of Greatness’ is a mobile-first, interactive design tool via BWM Isobar that lets basketball fans create their own, personalised ‘player logo’ in a few simple steps – with the best designs given the chance to win their own player edition shoe,just like the NBA superstars of the game.

INSPIRATION

In the future, our interaction won’t be limited to QR codes, text, sounds or videos.

1. We have our own virtual identity with a virtual credit system in the digital world?

2. Let our personal ‘real-life’ property live forever in digital worlds?

3. Mint social trends, buzzwords and UGC as NFTs?

/VIRTUAL PRESENCE

PROTO, A HOLOGRAPHIC COMMUNICATION PLATFORM

A human-sized “portal” that produces a lifelike person in hologram, letting people “beam” themselves to another location. A tabletop version of the device, called Proto M, is also now available for use at home or in the office.

MATSUKO: A MIXED REALITY APP THAT BRINGS 3D HOLOGRAMS TO F2F MEETINGS USING AR

Stream a realistic hologram using a smartphone. See others as holograms in Augmented Reality (AR) on your smartphone. For a true immersive experience, use Mixed Reality (MR) glasses.

INSPIRATION

Interaction is evolving and technology enables us to take on different formats to communicate and get closer.

1. Virtual offices?

2. Virtual idols from all over the world performing together on one platform?

3. Immersive telepresence tourism for mobility-restricted people?

/INCLUSIVE TECH

ARA, A SMART WEARABLE FOR VISUALLY IMPAIRED

ARA is a smart device developed for the blind and visually impaired, helping them move safer in your everyday life. Placed at the chest level with sensors, it vibrates to recommend wearer on their next step.

DENTSU GLOBAL CASE

ALS ASSOCIATION - PROJECT REVOICE

Project Revoice is a program that digitally clones ALS patients’ voices so they can keep communicating as themselves, even after they can no longer physically speak. To launch this life-changing program, BWM Isobar recreated the voice of Ice Bucket Challenge co-founder, Pat Quinn, and captured the moment when he spoke again for the first time in over a year.

INSPIRATION

Inclusive technology has the potential to enable people with different needs and connect them to deliver new experiences.

1. Smart home products that are able to assist people with disabilities with minimal interaction. 

2. Wearables for elderly to prevent injuries.

3. Driving-assistance software for deaf people to drive safer by using emojis.

/FUTURE AI

HUME, BRINGING EMOTIONAL AWARENESS AND RESPONSIVENESS TO AI

Hume is creating emphatic AI and diversifying their AI systems by providing them globally. By doing this, Hume is able to collect richer, more balanced, more diverse, unbiased emotion data for their AIs.

DENTSU GLOBAL CASE

VUNLABELED - A DIGITAL CAMOUFLAGE TO PREVENT AI RECOGNITION

Utilising a technique called ‘Adversarial Patch’ that induces false recognition by adding a specific pattern to an image or video. By doing so, this causes the AI to miss objects or unrecognised objects differently.

INSPIRATION

The future calls for products and services to be designed with diversity for a complete and richer customer experience.

1. Software to educate/alert people before posting sensitive news/ topics.

2. An online shopping mall that sells all products from different ethnicities.

3. Interview simulations with different interviewers from all over the world.

We'll share more trends and inspirations from SXSW and best work from dentsu global network. Stay tuned!

-ENDS-