Invited presentation by David Locke, Senior Program Director, ANA Avatar XPRIZE, USA: The ANA Avatar XPRIZE and the Push for an Avatar Future
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As Executive Director of Prize Operations, David Locke brings nearly two decades of Operations and Management experience with a focus on producing large-scale, international competitions and events that drive technological breakthroughs and positive social impact. Over the course of his ten plus years at XPRIZE, David has orchestrated an eclectic slate of competitions with topics ranging from robotics (ANA Avatar XPRIZE) to Moon exploration (Google Lunar XPRIZE) awarding more than $75 Million in prize money along the way. |
Telepresence technology is not new, but a new standard is being defined by Avatar Robots. The ANA Avatar XPRIZE, a four-year, $10 million, prize competition challenged teams to develop a robotic Avatar System that enables a human operator to transport their senses, actions, and presence to a remote location in real time. The competition culminated in a thrilling November 2022 Finals testing event – with three teams taking home the prize purse. In this talk you will learn from the prize organizer perspective how the prize was developed, the teams and Judges, the validation and testing process, as well as what the future of Avatar technology has in store and more.