I had the privilege of speaking at AWE Europe 2024 in Vienna, Austria, where I introduced VPS in Studio for the first time. The launch made it possible to build and publish location-based WebAR experiences visually, and my talk was about showing how simple and powerful that process can be.
For the demo, I created a project called Aurora, named after a circular fountain along the Embarcadero in San Francisco. Working with Ashley Rosenbaum, I designed a custom Peridot with a gradient inspired by the northern lights — deep blues and greens with flecks of starlight. The animation used the fountain itself as a stage: peeking out from either side, leaping through the ring, and landing in front of the viewer.
Aurora showed how quickly a VPS project can come to life in Studio: adding a location, dropping in an animation, simulating remotely, testing in person, and publishing live.
The demo also highlighted what I find most exciting — that the same experience can extend beyond a single place. At the fountain, you see Aurora in AR. On desktop or headset, you can explore it through Gaussian Splats. A cross-platform story anchored to the real world.
When I wasn’t on stage, I was in the booth, sharing Studio with developers, creators, and brands. Aurora sparked conversations, alongside face effects and game mechanics, and I spent hours hearing what people wanted to build next. The energy was constant, and the excitement around VPS in Studio was real.
Vienna in the fall was unforgettable — crisp air, golden leaves, and nights spent connecting with creators I’d only ever known online. Speaking on that stage and sharing Aurora felt like a full-circle moment, and I left both proud of what I presented and inspired by the community I met there.