FP 7 projects dealing with games 
1
147680;en;How the brain selects visual features;Selective attention can modulate perception and influence decisions. An EU-funded study sheds light on neural mechanisms of attention that are of intrinsic interest to the neuroscience community and practical interest to numerous industries.;"Many studies of visual perception and attention suggest that even when focusing on one feature  attention inadvertently reverts to the complete object and its entire set of features. For example when watching football  the point of interest is the direction in which one's favourite player is moving. However  attention can unintentionally move to other features  such as the colour of a player's shirt.
The EU-funded research project 'Revealing the neural mechanisms of attentional selection in the human visual cortex' (VISUAL ATTENTION) studied the neural mechanisms of selective attention taking advantage of behavioural  theoretical and neuroimaging techniques together with novel decoding methods. Scientists set out to determine how cortical selectivity for visual features is modulated by top-down or goal-driven attention.
Results indicated that top-down attention can selectively enhance the processing of a single task-relevant feature
  such as direction of motion
and that attention does not have to spread to task-irrelevant features. Further
the effect of attention on neural responses seems to depend on the type of attention being used.

These results provide important new insights into the neural basis of selective attention. They have significant implications for theories of visual attention and cortical visual function.
VISUAL ATTENTION outcomes have revealed important neural mechanisms of visual sensory processing and the ways in which attention modulates them. Aside from basic scientific interest regarding how the brain works  such studies are of key interest and practical use to advertising agencies and manufacturers  video game developers and producers of educational media. ";03/08/2015 9:13;NL;95169;VISUAL ATTENTION;FP7-PEOPLE;FP7-PEOPLE-2009-RG;158011;Revealing the neural mechanisms of attentional selection in the human visual cortex;/docs/results/images/2015-06/158011.jpg
2
151769;en;Boosting computer technology; Advancing the technology of graphics processing units (GPUs) promises to support a paradigm shift in manufacturing computer processors. One enterprising EU-funded project has made significant headway in the field.;"Powering some of the most sophisticated computer games to date GPUs are raising the eyebrows of computer scientists and researchers for use in high-performance numerical computation. Thanks to widespread demand for computer gaming  GPU technology has gone down in price to an extent where it is now being seen as a cost-effective avenue to advance high-speed computing.
The EU-funded project 'Automatic code generation for graphics processing units' (AUTH-AUTOGPU) worked on extending the life cycle of optimised numerical codes on GPUs to make them more efficient for everyday computing. One area of focus was on developing a high-level explicit parallelism language for programming numerical algorithms used for signal and image processing applications.

3
164478;en;Extolling the virtues of advanced materials;Advanced materials are behind most everyday applications and the technologies that revolutionised the way of life of people worldwide  yet they remain largely unknown to the general public. An EU initiative aims to get people thinking about their far-reaching effects.;"The importance of advanced materials in daily life is overlooked because of the focus placed on their end products from cars to smartphones. There is no consideration for the materials that help deliver solutions for a sustainable healthy and safe world. 
To raise overall awareness on advanced materials the EU-funded 'Stimulating the public attitude towards advanced materials' (http://www.materialsfuture.eu/ (STIMULATE)) project is designing a variety of media products in 23 European languages targeting ordinary citizens and youth. The project conveys the role advanced materials play in health environment technology
innovation and energy. The focus is on showing how these materials are finding innovative solutions to everyday issues and challenges that benefit all. To achieve this project partners are developing a film and an interactive computer game. The character-led feature film documentary aims to present materials science processes and innovations and the people involved in research and development. The web-based game is designed to demonstrate the significance of materials science to European youth aged 14 to 17. In doing so it hopes to attract motivate and encourage them to pursue the field. During the first reporting period the team selected themes and content for the film and game. A prototype for the game was developed and then successfully tested. Production on the audiovisual materials for the film is underway and the script has been finalised.
By presenting the wide-ranging socioeconomic and environmental benefits of advanced materials
STIMULATE will help to involve educate and empower Europeans of all ages.";02/06/2015 10:55;EL;109053;STIMULATE;FP7-NMP;NMP.2013.2.3-1;157110;STIMULATING THE PUBLIC ATTITUDE TOWARDS ADVANCED MATERIALS;/docs/results/images/2015/157110.jpg

4
92616;en;New tools for mine detection;An EU team is working on systems for detection and disposal of unexploded mines and other bombs. The promising tools include spatial information and satellite data systems  new kinds of robotic detectors  trained bees and personal protection suits.;"Mines and other unexploded ordnance (UXOs) often remain long after a military conflict is over  where their danger prevents return to normal land use. Safe disposal of explosives is vital  but requires painstaking detection. Helping to improve matters is the EU-funded 'Toolbox implementation for removal of anti-personnel mines  submunitions and UXO' (http://www.fp7-tiramisu.eu/ (TIRAMISU)) project. Consisting of 26 partners  from 11 European countries plus Japan  the project aims to provide the mine action community with tools for three aspects of demining. These are: planning  detection and disposal  plus training tools. The project is divided into 10 modules covering these areas. The four-year undertaking winds up at the end of 2015.
During the project's first year  it defined  commenced development of and revised a tool set. The set in its latter version includes a spatial information system  a system for acquiring satellite data and a mine action management tool that utilises the other two systems. During the second year  work on mine detection continued  and certain detectors were mounted on robotic ground platforms for testing. One platform was designed for both mine action and agricultural applications. Drones were evaluated and purchased  and one is being tested for use in mine action. Honey bees are also being evaluated for use as explosives detectors  with results from Croatia showing promise.
The project is developing two educational tools about mine risk: a video game and a radio play. The play was tested on refugees in Algeria.
TIRAMISU will provide users with certified operational tools and user support. This will facilitate safe detection and neutralisation of UXOs  removing a significant danger.";27/04/2015 16:59;BE;102065;TIRAMISU;FP7-SECURITY;SEC-2011.1.3-3;156491;"""Toolbox Implementation for Removal of Anti-personnel Mines  Submunitions and UXO""";/docs/results/images/2015/156491.jpg

5
The project 'Engaging game-based home rehabilitation for improved quality of life' (http://www.rehabathome-project.eu (REHAB@HOME)) aims to design and develop an open-solution information technology device that allows the patient to exercise at home. The goal is for the device to offer a set of exercises developed in close collaboration with a physician based on personalised serious games adapted to the patient's interests. The games should motivate the patient to continue working. Furthermore  they can be a social experience  done with family and friends. Project members have produced a project handbook containing information and rules necessary for good cooperation and communication. The team has interviewed patients  caregivers and clinicians at two rehabilitation centres to further guide the development of the project. The team has developed the first prototype of the REHAB@HOME platform. The server is in place and several end-user devices (Wii  Kinect  Sifteo Cubes) have been evaluated. The prototype was also introduced to patients  family members and professionals  and a framework for a more extensive pilot is under development. This project has the potential to fulfil the needs of patients and caregivers for home rehabilitation  increasing their motivation and adherence to the programme. Clinicians will be able to monitor their patients at home  lowering the cost and time needed to supervise each patient. Over time  home-based rehabilitation may solve two problems at once. It should expedite patient recovery while providing an answer to the challenge of increasing rehabilitation costs.";08/04/2015 17:02;DE;105318;REHAB@HOME;FP7-HEALTH;HEALTH.2012.3.2-3;155690;Engaging Game-based Home Rehabilitation for Improved Quality of Life;/docs/results/images/2015/155690.jpg
6
147333;en;Video games for cerebral palsy patients;Cerebral palsy (CP) is a neuro-degenerative disease that affects 15 million people worldwide  and 1.3 million in the EU alone. Researchers are now building a software platform for game developers to create games that can be played by CP sufferers.;"CP is associated with an inactive lifestyle that affects physical  social and mental well-being. Video games offer a way to improve mental and physical health but there are few  if any  games suited to CP patients. With the support of EU funding  the 'Platform of games for people with cerebral palsy to enhance living adjustment' (http://www.game-abling.eu (GAME-ABLING)) project set out to produce a commercial game development platform to address this. The platform will be used by game developers to make games  but is also simple enough for non-professionals (like parents of CP patients) to create customised games.The project initially focused on defining system specifications as well as the ethics and protocols of data collection. A common framework was then built using the C++ programming language.The next task was to create video motion libraries  which are coupled with location- head- and hand-tracking algorithms to form the control system.
Researchers also built algorithms that can use sounds as a game controller  and the system accommodates other controllers such as a keyboard and mouse.Two simple games were built using the system  for testing purposes. One of these also has a web application that allows users to create their own mini-games.Once complete  GAME-ABLING will be offered as an online subscription service  giving users access to the system and games created by others. In addition  the platform will provide data logging and activity reporting  allowing parents and doctors to monitor the physical activity of CP patients.";03/10/2014 9:53;ES;106022;GAME-ABLING;FP7-SME;SME-2012-1;141272;"PLATFORM OF GAMES FOR PEOPLE WITH CEREBRAL PALSY TO ENHANCE LIVING ADJUSTMENT";/docs/results/images/2014/20140813112119.jpg 
7
150841;en;Oceans go digital;A vision to combine novel submersible robots and create real-time online multimedia presentations promises to bring the complex underwater world with all its nature and beauty to any computer.;"Our seas and oceans are essential to life and to a healthy ecosystem but remain a mystery to many people. While divers know much about the deep sea  most people do not have the energy  means or desire to explore its depths. A new high-tech system designed to unveil the seas' biodiversity and natural beauty in real time promises to overcome the lack of knowledge in the field and foster awareness to encourage more sustainable oceans.
This was the mandate of the EU-funded project http://www.digitalocean.eu (DIGITAL OCEAN) . The project envisioned the use of digital technologies to collect and digitise underwater data using smart robots in order to disseminate rich imagery and related multimedia on the web. Such 'virtual diving' would be supported by an informative video game and e-learning platform  engaging citizens in learning about the seas and oceans. To achieve its objectives  the project gathered nine partners from five European countries who combined their expertise and designed a system based on underwater robotics  virtual reality  e-learning and computer systems. It worked on designing a new autonomous submersible mobile device named Dolphyn that processes and feeds information to the Internet. This involved studying the commercial success of the Dolphyn system  as well as building and testing a prototype device. The project team also developed an exploitation plan and has secured an order from a marine reserve in France.
In effect  the system enables anyone from anywhere and at any time to 'dive virtually' for a small feeenjoying quality seascapes and high-quality information without diving or disturbing the environment. The technology could prove very useful for marine protected areas and reserves  as well as diving sites and historical heritage shipwrecks. Education  tourism and leisure will certainly benefit from such an enterprising endeavour if the system becomes mainstream.";11/02/2015 14:26;FR;97193;DIGITAL OCEAN;FP7-SME;SME-1;142954;"""INTEGRATED MULTIMEDIA MIXED REALITY SYSTEM  OF REAL TIME VIRTUAL DIVING  BY WEB TELEOPERATED UNDERWATER DATA COLLECTING ROBOTS  DIFFUSED ONLINE AND THROUGH A NETWORK OF SUBMERSIBLE SIMULATION DEVICES""";/docs/results/images/2014/20141124132326.jpg

8
88505;en;Motivation and reasoning in psychological games;An innovative initiative seeking to advance the study and theory of psychological games has contributed to knowledge in the field and spurred collaboration within the related scientific community.;"The EU-funded �Psychological game theory and Bayesian rationality� (Psychological GAMES) project sought to study peoples� reasoning processes in psychological games. The approach took into account epistemic analysis in the literature offered by the type space approach introduced by Harsanyi (1967�1968) and the Bayesian state space approach introduced by Aumann (1976). Only the first includes tools for the development of theory in psychological games and so the project focused on study of the Bayesian foundations for insight into rationalisability and correlated equilibria � crucial solution concepts for strategic form games.
 Psychological GAMES set its sights on being able to contribute to the theory of extensive form psychological games assuming that players update their beliefs during the game. Games where the payoffs are dependent on motivation of individual players as well as expectations others have about their own behaviour and beliefs others have about everyone else's expectations have proven a useful tool for studying emotions. Strong feelings	 which include guilt and reciprocity	 are considered important in relation to belief hierarchies about players� behaviours. This implies a strong link with epistemic game theory
A paper was prepared advancing unification of various epistemic models applicable to psychological games and employed in the study of belief hierarchies. Other papers were also submitted for publication and a number of working papers are being further developed for future submissions.
Project efforts contributed to clarifying certain issues that have engendered much discussion among game theorists and epistemic game theorists in particular. New insights have thus been offered for psychological game theory	 rendering the project a relevant initiative for the particular scientific community.			
during the course of the project the lead researcher co-founded EpiCenter. Focusing on the study of epistemic game theory	 this research group actively participates in the organisation of several events	 one of which to date include an international conference.";29/06/2015 21:27;NL;91815;PSYCHOLOGICAL GAMES;FP7-PEOPLE;FP7-PEOPLE-IEF-2008;50958;Psychological game theory and Bayesian rationality;/docs/results/images/2012-05/50958.jpg

9

88864;en;Mind games; Understanding how the mind works in gaming environments can help researchers explain how we make decisions in complex situations and what we base these decisions on.;"The games we play	 from board games to guessing games	 are a source of learning for the mind. The EU-funded project 'Learning across games' (LAG) investigated game theory	 particularly how the mind categorises decision issues according to their similarity across different games. It also studied how this categorisation affects standard predictions in game theory.	
				
General game theory claims that people endogenise the question of categorisation and assumes that categorisations can be learned. However	 the project showed flaws in game theory once the issue of categorisation is introduced. Based on this	 it conducted several experiments in gaming to reveal a natural explanation regarding learned categorisations.		
				
LAG published a paper titled 'Learning across games' which showed that distinguishing all games requires too much reasoning resources	 causing players or agents to partition the games into categories. In another paper titled 'Learning without counterfactuals'	 the project examined learning procedures when counterfactuals (payoffs of non-chosen actions) are not observed. It showed how decision makers update their propensities after every payoff experience and transform them into choices	 representing a set of natural axioms.	
				
another experiment on learning in a multiple games environment examined how players make decisions if faced with many randomly generated games. It found that while agents extrapolate between games	 they learn to play strategically equivalent games in the same way. These trials and conclusions	 in addition to a host of others gleaned from the project	 have helped increase the understanding of gaming theory	 choices and learning in a gaming environment.";29/06/2015 22:08;NL;91756;LAG;FP7-PEOPLE;FP7-PEOPLE-IEF-2008;51300;Learning Across Games;/docs/results/images/2012-06/51300.jpg

10

90081;en;Computer 'games' for learning crisis management skills;Learning skills to effectively deal with air and sea transportation emergencies will soon be available via realistic computer simulations that feature active role playing.;"Crisis management in the field of air and sea transportation requires overcoming numerous challenges. Mobilising diverse and sometimes conflicting human resources and coordinating them cohesively under extreme time pressure is the fundamental pillar of success. Simultaneously	 crisis managers are faced with ambiguities in or lack of information	 as well as human issues such as emotional and cognitive difficulties induced by unexpected events.																							
Effective crisis management requires preparedness and simulation-based learning experiences provide a forum to master needed skills. A European consortium initiated the EU-funded 'Learning 4 security' (L4S) project to develop an innovative platform fostering collaborative competence in transportation crisis managers. In fact	 L4S goes beyond this in providing tools to train managers	 organisations	 employees and the broader public.													
The Advanced Collaboration in Crisis Management (ACCM) Framework (see http://l4s.fvaweb.eu/site/info.html) consists of five ACCM Simulation Games. Together	 they address competency in high-performance collaboration during crisis	 individual leadership	 decision making in diverse teams facing a crisis and barriers to effective crisis management. Users participate in realistic role playing incidents in which they learn by doing.																			
LS4 prototypes have been tested by nearly 500 pilot users resulting in valuable input for optimisation. Additional pilot and commercial activities are planned engaging hundreds more players and a detailed market analysis has been carried out. A multilevel exploitation plan has been defined for execution at project completion.																												
The project L4S has clearly demonstrated the platform's high potential for important impact in crisis management in the air and sea transportation sectors. LS4's ultimate aim is to extend and customise the platform to other critical infrastructures such as energy	 financial services and the food industry. The consortium also plans to incorporate deployment modes such as smartphones and other hand-held devices.";30/06/2015 3:04;EL;92869;L4S;FP7-SECURITY;ICT-SEC-2007-1.0-02;53514;Learning 4 Security;/docs/results/images/2013-01/53514.jpg