Periodic Reporting for period 2 - PERGAMON (PERvasive Serious GAMes suppOrted by Virtual CoachiNg) Reporting period: 2016-01-01 to 2016-12-31 Summary of the context and overall objectives of the project The PERGAMON project (PERvasive serious GAMes suppOrted by virtual coachiNg) aims to facilitate the matching between providers of innovative ICT technologies on the supply side and the creative industry operating in the field of serious games on the demand side. Specifically, the PERGAMON project aims to support the adoption by the creative industry of an innovative technology framework for the development of pervasive serious games able to provide a personalized gaming experience. This is accomplished through a gamification platform that links the user’s experience in the real world with the virtual world of the game, and the use of a ‘virtual coach’ to motivate users with personalized feedback and user assistance. Sensor devices integrated into the gaming platform also contribute to a pervasive gaming experience, by remotely collecting information on user activities.PERGAMON’s main objectives can be summarised as follows:• to implement and pilot test a gaming framework that helps the creative SME to provide pervasive gaming experience through gamification mechanisms that support user’s engagement • to develop pervasive serious games integrated with personalized user assistance by means of a virtual coach and a sensor network• to set up a flexible gaming framework that is expandable so that additional services can be added at any time• to connect the creative SME with the business network operating into the serious games international market• to facilitate strategic business alliance between creative SMEs and providers of leading edge ICT technologies.At the end of the project we have developed a pervasive serious game framework built on the following components:• a sensor network for monitoring the player by means of wireless sensors• a virtual coach delivering personalized assistance to the player in the real life• a gamification platform that adapts the challenges presented in the game and their level of difficulty to the data collected by the sensor network and to the user's interaction with the game itself• a series of utilities (dashboard) accessible through a web site.As an application of this technology framework, the PERGAMON project has developed and tested a prototype of a gamification solution for the empowerment of young diabetic patients. It includes an adventure game, set in a fantasy oriental world, called “The Mystery of TikiTako”, whose characters are small octopuses called “takos” (Japanese for “octopus”). The main character is an investigator called T-Shan, who must explore the various rooms of a temple to find a missing object. He can collect items, solve riddles, and play the embedded seven mini-games to unlock the next location and reach the last room where the object is hidden. The solution of the riddles is strictly connected to the goals achieved by the player in his/her real life, and tracked by the PERGAMON’s gamification that collects data from the sensor network, and turn them into points that affect the game. Work performed from the beginning of the project to the end of the period covered by the report and main results achieved so far PERGAMON has developed a prototype of a gamification platform for the empowerment of children with Type 1 diabetes, that consists of: • a serious game connected to a gamification platform, that monitors goals and tasks completed by the user, allowing them to proceed in the game• monitoring devices that measure blood glucose level and physical activity • a virtual coach offering personalized feedback.The technical development work was concluded in June 2016. The pilot testing phase took place in the last six months of the project, and was carried out at the Dutch hospital Gelderse Vallei, partner of the project, involving 21 young diabetic patients. The results of the testing indicate that there is more development work to complete, particularly as regards the synchronisation of data between the sensors and the platform, but the PERGAMON platform has demonstrated good potential to improve outcomes in a growing area of medical need.All PERGAMON partners engaged in the organization of three PERGAMON workshops held in the Netherlands, Italy and the United Kingdom. The main purpose of these workshops was to disseminate the project’s results and engage with creative industry SMEs and potential funders for continued work in these areas. A final conference was organized specifically for the PERGAMON project in London in November 2016. This event focussed on presenting the project milestone results and exploring further exploitation possibilities. The exploitation strategy focuses on the launch onto the market of the application of the PERGAMON framework for children with T1 diabetes, which is the prototype coming out the project. However, we consider as a promising field of exploitation also the framework itself, that can be licensed to other game or app developers for application to other diseases or fields other than healthcare. Progress beyond the state of the art and expected potential impact (including the socio-economic impact and the wider societal implications of the project so far) The PERGAMON project has developed a gamification framework that allows to provide a pervasive experience by integrating a serious game with a virtual coach to motivate users with personalized feedback and user assistance. The pervasive gaming experience is also strengthened by sensor devices integrated into the gaming platform, that remotely collect data on user activities, and send them via cloud to a server. The data are then processed by the gamification application, and translate into rewards to the users every time they fulfil a goal.The prototype of PERGAMON platform has been developed to improve the adherence of young Type 1 Diabetes patients to their treatment regimes. Chronic diseases (including diabetes) are currently the biggest cause of death and disability worldwide, resulting obviously in high health care spending. Tackling chronic diseases is therefore a crucial issue and one of the core priorities of all EU health systems. Over the last few years, the focus on patient responsibilities and their role in managing their health - what is called patient empowerment - has grown substantially and is an increasing focus of health policies in Europe. Empowering patients with chronic diseases means providing them with the opportunities and the environment to develop the skills, confidence and knowledge to move from being a passive recipient of care to an active partner in their health care. The use case of PERGAMON, focusing on the empowerment and self-management of diabetes patients, is therefore in line with these needs expressed both at societal level and market level. The concept has been proved effective in combining monitoring technology with gamified education and virtual coaching, all of which can be demonstrated as helping with treatment adherence. The cost savings from improved adherence to treatment are clear and small improvements in health can lead to strong improvements in whole life outcomes. In sum, the PERGAMON platform has the potential to offer significant and unique economic and societal value. It has the potential for significant cost savings in healthcare through the use of the platform which would be of economic and societal value. It has professional value to healthcare providers in their work with young patients with Type 1 Diabetes. Finally, it has the potential for personal value to young patients and their caregivers who often facilitate their healthcare and medication adherence. one scene of the Tako game in the PERGAMON framework dashboard of the PERGAMON gamification component indicating goals and activities cover of the main adventure game developed in PERGAMON
