A shark-detecting buoy, 3D printed prosthetic limbs changing lives in Sudan, and a “thinking” music player were among the finalists for the South By Southwest (SXSW) Innovation Awards, to be presented for innovative developments in the Internet of Things, wearables, art, security, and more on March 17 in Austin, Texas. 

The awards themselves received a redesign this year, with 14 new categories and a new name – they were previously labeled the SXSW Interactive Awards.

Finalists are as follows:

• Health, Med & BioTech finalists are Alvio, the CareCycle Navigator, a fly-inspired hearing device developed at the University of Texas at Austin’s Cockrell School of Engineering, the LIM Innovations Infinite Socket, and VocaliD, a databank of voices designed to make synthetic speech sound more human.
• In the Innovation in Connecting People category, SXSW named FireChat, Stream, Talkitt, UNI and, one of several nominees in multiple categories, VocaliD.
• Innovative 3-DIY finalists are Da Vinci 1.0 AiO, Open Gigabot, Project Daniel (which prints 3D limbs for children in need in Sudan), 3D-printed car Strati, and The Raptor Hand series of prosthetics by e-NABLE.
• Internet of Things finalists include music discovery portal Cone, the shark-detecting Clever Buoy, Guide Dots, Hammerhead Navigation, and Sprinkl.
• In Music Discovery, finalists are Microsoft’s 22Tracks, Cone, Melugia, Mogees, and the SoundCloud iOS redesign.
• The New Economy award will go to a company redefining the exchange of goods and services. Finalists are Acorns, Clover Mobile, Cultivate, Gridmates, and Strati.
• Privacy and Security finalists are Digify, Disconnect, netwars/out of CTRL, openPDS/SafeAnswers, and Virtru.
• Responsive Design finalists, named for excellence in digital content, aesthetics, and functionality, are Second Story’s 100 Years of Design, Bluecadet, Brooklyn Bridge Park.org by Kettle, Destiny Planet View by 72andSunny, and
• Explore Data Science by Booz Allen Hamilton.
• Finalists up for the SciFi No Longer category are The Brainwriter; AeroMobil 3.0, a prototype of a flying car; and the fly-inspired hearing device, nanomotors, and a noninvasive skin cancer detection device, all by the UT Austin School of Engineering.
• Student Innovation finalists are the Edge of the Sound project, Expressive Wearables by Sangli Li, Lighten Up: Lightweight Efficient Microengines for Unmanned Aerial Systems, TetraBIN, and Visualizing MBTA Data, an interactive exploration of Boston’s subway system.
• In Sustainable Tech, finalists are Clever Buoy, EDGEhome, Skyven Technologies’ Skyven Cogen System, Oroeco, and Resilient Modular Systems.
• Finalists in Transportation Advancements are Carma Carpooling, Guide Dots, Hammerhead, the New York City MTA “On The Go” information kiosks, and Strati.
• In Visual Media Experience, finalists are Cronulla Riots – The Day That Shocked the Nation from SBS Australia, Love Radio, Native American Voices by Bluecadet Interactive, netwars / out of CTRL, and The War & Money Project by Newsy.
• Wearable Tech finalists are Android Wear by Google, FeeWavz Smart Earphones, Google Glass Everyware by Isobar, the Rip Curl Search GPS, and basketball app ShotTracker.