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Showing posts from December, 2015

Serious Games To Diagnose And Treat Lazy Eye In Children

Healthx Screenshot The University of Utah is this year’s winner in the “ Best Student Developed Serious Game” category of the Serious Games Showcase & Challenge with Healthx , a game to help treat and diagnose lazy eye in children. This is the University of Utah’s second consecutive winning year at I/ITSEC SGS&C.  In 2014, University of Utah’s Entertainment Arts & Engineering (EAE) was awarded "Best Student Developed Serious Game" for CyberHeist . Working with researchers at the John A. Moran Eye Center , a team from the U created Healthx to help diagnose and treat lazy eye, which can lead to permanent visual impairment if left untreated. Fully controlled by eye movement, the "Serious Game" forces the lazy eye to move around the screen, which can strengthen and help find the right balance between the eyes. The game’s proposition is to train the weak muscles responsible for amblyopia or "lazy eye”, by using hardware that tracks

Serious Games As A Novel Paradigm for Learning Quantum Mechanics

The Georgia Institute of Technology is this year’s winner in the Students' Choice category of the Serious Games Showcase & Challenge with Particle in a Box: The Quantum Mechanics Game . The game is part of the research project Particle in a Box - An Experiential Approach to Quantum Mechanics Education ,  conducted by a Georgia Tech’s team consisting of faculty, graduate and undergraduate students from various disciplines who have collaborated on the design, development and evaluation of the Educational Serious Game . Quantum Mechanics (QM) is the foundation of diverse science and engineering disciplines such as semiconductor physics, materials science, and nanotechnology. However, people almost unanimously agree that QM is extremely challenging to learn - especially for newcomers into the field. Students may spend several classes learning mathematical formulas that represent the behavior of particles in the QM world, but they may not form a clear intuitive un

Serious Games Providing New Ways To Increase MUM-T Capability

Camber Corporation is this year’s winner in the “Best Government Serious Game” category of the Serious Games Showcase & Challenge with MUM-T Strikeforce , an online, multiplayer, multiplatform, and fielded training game, developed for the US Army PdM-Tactical Unmanned Aircraft Systems . The I/ITSEC conference attendees also selected MUM-T Strikeforce for the “People’s Choice Award”. This is Camber's third consecutive winning year at I/ITSEC SGS&C.  In 2014, Camber was awarded "Best Mobile Game" and "People's Choice" for "Eagle Eye" and in 2013, Camber was awarded "Best Mobile Game" and "People's Choice" for "GORRDEE". The U.S. Army views MUM-T as a critical capability. MUM-T stands for Manned Unmanned-Teaming, in which manned aircraft work with unmanned aerial systems (UAS).   The tremendous amount of time, effort, and resources expended on Army MUM-T research and development have grown

Serious Games Reinforcing Safety Protocols In The Operating Room

Safety Surgery Trainer (SST) , developed by Alion Science and Technology , in conjunction with Synensis , was also selected as a finalist in the  2015 Serious Games Showcase and Challenge in the Business Category. SST is a patient - safety "Serious Game" for perioperative staff who work in the Operating Room (nurses, surgeons, anesthesia, and scrub tech). Perioperative refers to the three phases of surgery: preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative. The goal of perioperative care is to provide better conditions for patients before operation, during operation, and after operation. Preventable medical errors cause up to 98,000 deaths each year and the majority are due to breakdowns in communication, leading the World Health Organization (WHO) to mark “Communication” as the #1 healthcare research priority.  In efforts to address the root causes of these mistakes – and save more lives – Alion Science and Technology , in partnership with the University

Serious Games Engaging Children In Desalination Process From Ocean To Tap

Developed by Monkeystack , an animation studio based in Adelaide, South Australia, Project Desal is a free Serious Game for iPad that challenges players to build their own desalination plant. As a studio, Monkeystack has been producing interactive entertainment since 2004, and more recently educational games. Project Desal was an opportunity to blend the company’s experience in both of these fields, having received a number of accolades from most reputable organizations throughout the year, including: Best Serious Game - Government and Industry -  Australasian Simulation Congress (SIMTecT, 2015) Best Business Developed Serious Game (international) - I/ITSEC  Serious Games Showcase and Challenge,2015 Best Mobile Serious Game   (International)  - I/ITSEC  Serious Games Showcase and Challenge, 2015 Project Desal  was developed for SA Water, a business enterprise wholly owned by the Government of South Australia. Among the key infrastructure projects SA Water has under

Serious Games For Inquiry And Creative Expression in Plant Science

Solarium Game - The Desert Module. Image credit: Sunfleck Solarium is a free, adventure Serious Game about Plant Science research and innovation developed by Sunfleck , an indie game studio based in Sidney BC, Canada, with the aspiration of turning science into fun. Sunfleck is formed by David Ehret, PhD - THE SCIENTIST, with tons of experience in plant science research and a passion for building games with the Unity3D engine; Nathan Ehret - THE ARTIST/GAMER, gifted artist and also educated in classical history; and Don Ehret – THE MUSICIAN, a virtuoso guitar player and composer. Their first game, Solarium , available for Windows and Mac, raises awareness of the importance of plant science in our world in the context of a futuristic game environment.  The future of global agriculture, the ability of plants to adapt to a changing climate, the health of ecosystems, and the management of a sustainable biosphere are only some examples of Plant Science strategic reach.

2015 Winners Announced @ Serious Games Showcase & Challenge

Project Desal Screenshot Monkeystack is this year’s winner in the Best Business Developed Serious Game category of the Serious Games Showcase & Challenge with Project Desal . This award is commonly the hardest fought award for the historically largest category. Project Desal is also the winner in the Best Mobile Serious Game category awarded to the game that best leverages the mobile environment. The U.S. Army PdM- Tactical Unmanned Aircraft Systems topped the Government Developed Serious Game category with its MUM-T Strikeforce. The I/ITSEC conference attendees also selected MUM-T Strikeforce for the People’s Choice Award. MUM-T Strikeforce Screenshot Healthx , by the University of Utah , is the winner in the Best Student Developed Serious Game category. Healthx Screenshot The University of Miami is the winner in the Special Emphasis: Best Social Media Crowdsourcing Game category with Unsavory . Unsavory Screenshot And lastly

Serious Games To Explore Complex Genetics Concepts

Touching Triton , developed by HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology , was selected as a finalist in the  2015 Serious Games Showcase and Challenge in the Business Category. HudsonAlpha, located in Huntsville, Alabama, is a nonprofit institute dedicated to advancing genomics in medicine, agriculture, education and commerce. To help prepare the biotech industry's future workforce, HudsonAlpha's educational outreach team designs activities to engage students and teachers. Their latest effort, Touching Triton , is an online "Serious Game" developed with assistance from NASA and the U.S. Space & Rocket Center. In the game, students use modern genomic and health information to help keep six crew members alive on their 20-year, round-trip mission to Triton, a moon of Neptune. Players are challenged with sorting through medical record, genomic and family history data to determine a crew member’s risk for six common complex diseases.  Players