Human-based computation game
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A human-based computation game or game with a purpose (GWAP[1]) is a human-based computation technique in which a computational process performs its function by outsourcing certain steps to humans in an entertaining way.[2] This approach uses differences in abilities and alternative costs between humans and computer agents to achieve symbiotic human-computer interaction. These tasks can include labelling images to improve web searching, transcription of ancient text (where OCR software faces a script they are not optimized for and degraded or damaged images) and any activity requiring common sense or human experience.
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[edit] ESP Game
The first example was the ESP Game, an effort in human computation originally conceived by Luis von Ahn of Carnegie Mellon University, which labels images. To make it an entertaining effort for humans, two players attempt to assign the same labels to an image. The game records the results of matches as image labels and the players enjoy the encounter because of the competitive and timed nature of it. To ensure that people do their best to accurately label the images, the game requires two people (chosen at random and unknown to each other), who have only the image in common, to choose the same word as an image label. This discourages vandalism because it would be self defeating as a strategy.
[edit] Foldit
Foldit, while also a gwap, has a different type of method for tapping the collective human brain. This game challenges players to use their human intuition of 3-dimensional space to help with protein folding algorithms. Unlike the ESP Game which focuses on the results that humans are able to provide, Foldit is trying to understand how humans approach complicated 3 dimensional objects. By 'watching' how humans play the game, researchers hope to be able to improve their own computer programs. Instead of simply performing tasks that computers cannot do, this gwap is asking humans to help make current machine algorithms better.
[edit] EteRNA
EteRNA is a game in which players attempt to design RNA sequences that fold into a given configuration. The widely varied solutions from players, often non-biologists, are evaluated to improve computer models predicting RNA folding. Some designs are actually synthesized to evaluate the actual folding dynamics and directly compare with the computer models.
[edit] Phylo
The Phylo video game allows gamers to contribute to the greater good by trying to decode the code for genetic diseases. While playing the game and aligning the colored squares, one is helping the scientific community get a step closer to solving the age-old problem of multiple sequence alignment. The problem of multiple sequence alignment is too big for computers to handle. The goal is to understand how and where the function of an organism is encoded in the DNA. The game explains that "a sequence alignment is a way of arranging the sequences of DNA, RNA or protein to identify regions of similarity".
[edit] Phrase Detectives
Phrase Detectives is an "annotation game" geared towards lovers of literature, grammar and language. It allows for users to indicating relationships between words and phrases to creates a resources that is rich in linguistic information. Players are awarded with points for their contributions and featured on a leader board.[3] It was developed by academics Jon Chamberlain, Massimo Poesio and Udo Kruschwitz at the University of Essex.
[edit] OnToGalaxy
OnToGalaxy is a game in which players help to acquire common sense knowledge about words. As implemented as a space shooter OnToGalaxy in its design quite different from other human computation games. [4] The game was developed by Markus Krause at the University of Bremen.
[edit] Eyewire
Eyewire is a game for finding the connectome of the retina. [1]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Posted by Luis von Ahn (2008-05-13). "GWAP Blog: May 2008". Blog.gwap.com. http://blog.gwap.com/2008_05_01_archive.html. Retrieved 2011-09-22.
- ^ Burgener, 1999; von Ahn 2003
- ^ "Phrase Detectives - The AnaWiki annotation game". Anawiki.essex.ac.uk. 2011-09-09. http://anawiki.essex.ac.uk/phrasedetectives/. Retrieved 2011-09-22.
- ^ "OnToGalaxy". http://dm.tzi.de/en/people/staff/krause/. http://dm.tzi.de/en/ontogalaxy/. Retrieved 2012-01-25.
- Communications of the ACM, issue: 08/08 Vol. 51 NO. 8 (August 2008), article: Designing Games with a Purpose.
- http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/11/phylo-game
