2. IBM COGNITIVE HOUSE
For the second year in a row, IBM became, in my opinion, the best of all the companies that during
SXSW marked their presence by opening their own showrooms. My subjective assessment is based
on the usefulness of innovations presented within.
3. IBM COGNITIVE HOUSE
The presented solutions included a real-time tracking application for what is happening in the offline
world. As an example, the SXSW itself, which Watson's technology has analyzed for the most cool events in
the given hour, the clothing microtrends at the event, the most commonly used by participants keywords,
and so on.
4. IBM COGNITIVE HOUSE
The new initiative of IBM is a test collaboration with the creators of the cult "Sesame Street" as part
of the educational program for the youngest. Thanks to the involvement of Natural Language
Processing and facial recognition technology, the brand wants to launch a modern early childhood
literacy project. IBM also develops an edu-project on online safety.
5. FLOPPY DISK REPAIR CO.
On the 6th Street (the main, most party street in Austin, which is closed for mass traffic at SXSW),
there is still a functioning shop that can repair any type of diskette. Yes, these are exactly the data
storage media consecutively replaced by CDs, pendrives, and the cloud. Weird?
6. MURAL „Anaxyrus houstonensis"
One of the most beautiful Street Art works I have ever seen is in a street away from the popular 6th
Street. The story of these two frogs is wider - the mural was created as part of the endangered
species conservation project of the Anaxyrus houstonensis frog species that can be found in Texas.
7. ‚WORN WEAR’ PROJECT BY PATAGONIA
A very cult clothing brand, especially among mountain lovers, is one of those who do their best to
minimize the impact of their activities on the environment. The "Worn Wear" project is designed to remind
customers that slightly worn out products, after a simple renovation, can serve them for years to come.
The brand makes minor repairs in its stores.
8. #STRIPPED
The Bravo TV station's ambient campaign, promoting the reality show "Stripped", cannot be perceived as
successful. For 2 days it was constantly raining, so almost naked and soaked "extras", hired by the station looked
quite awkward on the streets of Austin.
9. „THE HANDMAID’S TALE”
Another street ambient, this time made by the Hulu platform. The company promoted the dystopian series "The
Handmaid's Tale", sending over a dozen women around the conference characterized as the heroine of the new
TV show. The action itself became rather a failure. Silent people were too creepy for many participants (including
me) and they created an aura of anxiety.
10. POWERAID SOLSOL HAT
SXSW is also a fair, and when it comes to trade fairs, you can never miss out very strange innovations. The
strangest - in my opinion - example of this year, is a Poweraid cap, which allows you to charge portable devices
with energy stored on the surface of its peak. The whole looks very discreet
11. FUTURISTIC CINEMA
Wonder Vision (CGI) presented its work on a custom, non-standard screen using hydraulic seats that respond to
the displayed image. The perfect solution for the living room.
12. SENSELESS DEVICES
I actually do not know what this device is for, but what I know is that it probably is not the most hygienic device
I have ever seen. Especially on such a big event, where so many different people massage (?) their feet in it. Not.
13. LUXURY BRANDS @SXSW
This is probably the first case in the last 4 years, when a premium brand makes such a strong presence in SXSW.
Giorgio Armani opened its standalone showroom right next to the main conference hall, promoting, through
video storytelling, a series of the latest glasses
14. KURI ROBOT
The company producing social robot Kuri opened its showroom in the city center for the duration of the
conference. Inside you can read the history of the formation of one of the most developed - at this moment -
this type of devices. Numerous prototypes showed how complex the process is to create both the SI robot and
its packaging.
15. YOUTUBE CORNER
Youtube has strongly marked its presence at this year's South By. At Youtube Corner, the brand presented the
most important directions in which, in its view, online video will follow. Obviously, the popularity of Youtube
attracted many creators to his house. Number of content creators and so called influencers present on 1m2
in
this building, was significantly above average.
16. YOUTUBE CORNER
One of the most interesting initiatives within Youtube Corner was an exhibition of gadgets related to movies,
which have gained the most popularity on Youtube over the last few years.
17. YOUTUBE CORNER
Video content creators had available recording studios that enabled them to prepare quick publications straight
from the Youtube's house. Very cool, context-sensitive action - I was not able to get there because of the long
queues. Every single creator wanted to record shots from inside.
18. EU @ SXSW
For the first time in four years I noticed that the European Union was present at SXSW, and also, like a full brand,
had its EU House. Inside there were many interesting lectures and discussions. Only the location of the house
seemed to be a disadvantage - heavily off the beaten track, which often filled the hall empty.
19. SONY
The future of the mixers used by professional DJs is likely to be so. At least that is what Sony thinks about this
profession and the necessary equipment.
20. SONY
Holograms emitted by the Sony Xperia Projector are a solution that can support designers in the early stages of
preparing building projects. I tested, amazingly accurate imaging, and a quick reaction to interaction with the
projection.
21. SONY
Holograms emitted by the Sony Xperia Projector are a solution that can support designers in the early stages of
preparing building projects. I tested, amazingly accurate imaging, and a quick reaction to interaction with the
projection.
22. CARVANA AMBIENT
One of the best ambient actions on SXSW, prepared by the Carvana platform - dealing with used car dealerships
without the dealers. BMW i3 placed in a huge vending machine was to be won by conference participants.
23. CARVANA AMBIENT
One of the best ambient actions on SXSW, prepared by the Carvana platform - dealing with used car dealerships
without the dealers. BMW i3 placed in a huge vending machine was to be won by conference participants.
24. TWITTER @ SXSW
Twitter treated this year's SXSW very literally. The house of this brand, after all, a big brand, resembled rather...
a bird house. Nomen omen, for years the popular social network is the star at SXSW. It was at this conference
last year that Twitter debuted - spending almost the last money on the promotion, and counting on the
technology industry to see its potential.
25. #MYANDROID
Unfortunately, events prepared by Android were not delightful. They were of poor quality. One of the attractions
was the ability to customize the entire bus, set in the central square. As you can see, even brands with such
large budgets cannot sometimes find a way to express themselves. Surprisingly, SXSW is a place where it is easy
to get a big buzz online, if you pay close attention to visitors.
26. MAKER MOVEMENT
In Austin, you can always encounter events related to the movement of Makers. This city extremely appreciates
its own inventiveness and creation based on the Do It Yourself trend. In the picture you can see the „ring" and
the clash of two teams of makers, arranged by Sparkfun during the fair at one of the conference halls.
27. CREEPY CONVERSATION
It was absolutely the strangest thing I encountered at SXSW'17. Conversation between a woman, a robot with
a human face and a humanoid robot. It went pretty smoothly, although the best reaction was the woman who
took part in the "discussion". When she got up from the chair she said only "that was so creepy!". The feeling of
the Uncanny Valley?
28. SPECTACLES
At a similar level of abstraction, one of the observers was able to record a scene using Spectacles - the product
of Snap.Inc. , the owner of e.g. Snapchat, which allows to upload short video clips for this site. The whole is very
grotesque.
29. POETRY FAST FOOD
Spotted on one of the streets of Austin. A street artist accepts orders for written poems "on the fly." The buyer
chooses the topic, determines the price in advance, and the poet goes to work. The whole takes a few minutes.
30. FUTURISTIC CREDIT CARDS
That is how, according to Capital One Bank, our credit cards may soon look like.. #ProjectElements was
presented at the home of the brand, which for many years has been one of SXSW's main partners.