The AR & VR Innovation Award
Immersive technology earns its place when the headset or the overlay does something a screen cannot. This category recognises augmented and virtual reality, spatial computing and immersive experience work judged on task performance, not on spectacle.
- Independent jury
- 250
- Innovations evaluated
- 4,500+
- Star rating
- 1–5
- Running since
- 2010
Academics, scientists, officials, investors
Across seventeen editions
Every nominee earns an AGBA Innovation Star
India’s longest-running innovation award
Three categories sit close to data. This is the one about method and evidence.
Most nominations that fail here fail because they were in the wrong category. Read across before you write anything.
Innovation in AR & VR
Augmented and virtual reality, spatial computing and immersive experience, judged on the task.
This category
Innovation in Learning & Development
Training and capability building, including simulation-led programmes.
Innovation in Media & Entertainment
Content, distribution and audience experience across formats.
Who should enter
- Industrial AR for maintenance, assembly, inspection or remote assistance
- VR simulation and training with measured skill or safety outcomes
- Spatial computing, digital twins and visualisation used in real decisions
- Immersive retail, healthcare or education deployments beyond pilot scale
- Hardware, optics or interaction work that made the experience usable for longer
What this award recognises is a task done better in the headset than out of it — faster repairs, safer training, fewer errors — with the comparison made honestly.
If the programme is fundamentally about capability building, enter Innovation in Learning & Development. If it is audience-facing content, enter Innovation in Media & Entertainment.
What the jury looks for
- Problem definition & market opportunityWhether the innovation solves a real problem, backed by evidence and a measurable impact on its target audience.
- InnovativenessNovelty and uniqueness — new technology, functionality or business model — measured against what already exists, including IP.
- Market potential & impactSize and growth of the addressable market, competitive landscape, and scalability across geographies.
- Social impact & sustainabilityContribution to society and the environment, including social responsibility and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.
These are the same four criteria — problem definition, innovativeness, market impact and social/sustainability impact — used to assess every category. In this category the jury also weighs methodological rigour — including what you did to avoid fooling yourselves — the decision that changed as a result and what it was worth, the reproducibility and honesty of the evaluation, and the engineering quality of the data foundation underneath. Read the full evaluation criteria.
Who judges this category
Nominations are assessed by an independent jury, not by the organisers. Jurors are matched to the categories where their expertise lies. These are among those who read immersive and spatial computing entries.
Ms. ONG Soh KhimAssociate Professor, Mechanical Engineering, National University of Singapore
Prof G C NandiProfessor, IIIT Allahabad
Dr. M. SreekumarProfessor, IIITDM Kancheepuram
Prof. Julie WallProfessor of Artificial Intelligence, University of East London
Prof. Muhammad BilalProfessor, Applied Artificial Intelligence and Technology Ethics, Birmingham City Business School
Prof Abhishek SrivastavaProfessor, Computer Science and Engineering, IIT Indore
Ms. Kavita BhatiaSenior Director, Emerging Technology, MeitY, Government of India
Dr. Aloknath DeFormer Chief Technology Officer, Samsung R&D Institute IndiaEight of roughly 250. The full panel spans the IITs, the IIMs, the IIITs, the Indian School of Business, NITI Aayog and central ministries, the Department of Science & Technology, MeitY and CERT-In. See the full jury panel.
Immersion on the podium
The category has run as AR/VR, Metaverse and Immersive Experience across the editions. These are among the most recent winners, photographed at the ceremony.
Previous winners
Immersive work has been recognised as AR/VR, AR/VR/MR, Metaverse and Immersive Experience as the field renamed itself. The complete record sits in the winners archive.
Category names have changed across editions as the field has moved; the rows above are the closest equivalents in the published record. See the winners archive for the full 1st–16th edition history.
What happens after you submit
-
Stage one · nowNomination registration
Register your company and category through the nomination process, then complete the detailed nomination form and processing fee.
-
Stage twoJury presentation
Present the innovation to the jury and take questions. Jurors score each entry against the four evaluation criteria and rank it within its category.
-
Stage threeStar Certification
Nominees are also assessed for AGBA Innovation Star Certification, an independent maturity rating alongside the category judging.
-
Stage fourFinalists announced
Once every category has been evaluated, finalists are announced on the website ahead of the ceremony.
-
Stage fiveAward ceremony
Winners are honoured on 18 February 2027 at Hotel Ashoka, Chanakyapuri, New Delhi.
Before you write your nomination
Does the entry need custom hardware?
No. Most winning work runs on commodity devices; what matters is the task, the interaction design and the measured result.
How is training simulation assessed here versus in L&D?
If the achievement is the simulation technology, enter here. If it is the capability programme around it, enter Learning and Development.
Is a marketing activation eligible?
Only where there is evidence beyond impressions — dwell time, conversion, or a task completed better. Spectacle alone does not carry a nomination.
How do I submit a nomination?
Nominations are submitted through the nomination process, which sets out the stages, the supporting material required and the current edition’s dates.
Put the task in front of the panel
Nominations for the AR and VR Innovation Award are read by an independent jury of researchers and engineers. Bring the comparison against doing it without the headset.