1.1. What is the problem/issue being addressed?
Driving style is seen not only to become a significant cause of greenhouse gas (GHG) and other air pollutant emissions but also a critical parameter regarding road safety, with huge social & financial adverse effects. GamECAR aims to develop a highly innovative and interactive Serious Games platform that will empower and guide users to adopt an eco-friendly driving style. This will be achieved, without distracting users from safe driving, through a multidisciplinary approach aiming at the development of a user friendly, unobtrusive multi-player gaming environment, where the users will not only play collaboratively/competitively using their mobile device but also using the car itself and their own bodies, thus turning eco-driving into an immersive and highly motivating experience.
1.2 Why is it important for society?
Road transport is one of the major causes of the environmental pollution. According to a recent study it is responsible for about 30% on the total emissions of CO2 into the atmosphere. Among the actions individuals can take to reduce their green-house gases associated with personal transportation, there is to operate their current vehicles more efficiently. Recent studies have shown that in certain situations the driver's driving style can result in differences in terms of fuel consumption (and therefore CO2 emissions) from 2 up to 35% between a calm driver and an aggressive one. At this point, it should be also mentioned that numerous studies have underlined the substantial ecological, economic but, also, road safety adverse benefits that can be derived from adopting eco-driving behaviours.
The use of different gamification elements in GamECAR is not only applicable to new drivers for teaching them correct driving habits but can also be used for improving the efficiency of existing ones. The benefits of GamECAR to the society can be summarized in the following points:
1. Drivers will not only save on fuel and maintenance costs, but also will engage in a pleasant and safe trip, both for them and their passengers.
2. The overall gains will be immediate and evident across the whole fleet, regardless of the age and technology of the vehicle.
3. Less aggressive driving will lead to a decrease in the total number of accidents and therefore a decrease in the accompanying insurance costs.
4. Eco-driving is an environmentally friendly practice that leads to a decrease in amount of greenhouse gasses emitted into the atmosphere as well as an overall decrease in the noise pollution, especially for densely populated cities.
1.1. What are the overall objectives?
The major scientific Objectives of GamECAR, are:
Objective 1: To develop Interactive Serious Games that will motivate users to adopt an EcoDriving Styles
Objective 2: Continuous \ context-aware, multi-parametric monitoring of EcoDriving related parameters
Objective 3: To develop a “personalized monitoring and guidance EcoDriving platform”
Objective 4: Exploration of predictive value of EcoDriving Indicators that will result in the design of more efficient Serious Games.
Objective 5: Development of Multiplayer game environments that will also support social interactions
Objective 6: Testing and evaluation of the prototype using different types of drivers/vehicles.
Objective 7: Exploitation of the GamECAR project results helping SMEs to size new Businesses
