GAPARS · Project

Turn Video Gamers Into Your Data Analysis Workforce via In-Game Science Tasks

digitalTestedTRL 7

gapars.mmos.ch

Imagine you could sneak real scientific puzzles — like classifying galaxies or spotting disease patterns — right into the video games millions of people already play every day. That's exactly what this project built: a platform that disguises research tasks as normal game challenges, so players solve real problems without even realizing it. Think of it as turning the billions of hours people spend gaming into free, high-quality data processing. The platform plugs into existing online games so scientists get massive crowds of helpers and gamers get richer, more meaningful gameplay.

By the numbers

100%

Client modules implemented

Consortium partners

Countries in consortium

EUR 573,297

EU contribution

Total project deliverables

Industry partners in consortium

The business problem

What needed solving

Companies and research organizations with massive datasets — images, patterns, classifications — face a painful bottleneck: human review is slow, expensive, and hard to scale. Hiring annotation teams costs a fortune, and traditional crowdsourcing platforms struggle with participant dropout and quality control. Meanwhile, billions of hours of human attention are spent on video games every day, representing an untapped workforce that could process scientific data if given the right tools.

The solution

What was built

The project built the MMOS Platform: a complete game engine with client modules (100% implemented) that injects real scientific research tasks directly into online video games. A CI beta testing setup was also delivered, along with 12 total deliverables covering the full technology stack from integration tools to validation infrastructure.

Audience

Who needs this

Online game publishers seeking new player engagement mechanicsPharma and biotech companies with large-scale image classification needsResearch institutions needing affordable crowd data analysisEdTech companies building interactive STEM learning toolsScience museums and outreach organizations wanting digital engagement platforms

Business applications

Who can put this to work

Video Game Publishing

mid-size

Target: Online game studios and publishers with large player communities

If you are a game publisher looking for ways to boost player engagement and retention — this project developed the MMOS Platform, a ready-made engine that injects real scientific micro-tasks into your game mechanics and visuals. With 100% of client modules implemented and beta-tested across 8 partners in 7 countries, the platform lets you offer players a sense of real-world purpose without disrupting gameplay. This adds a unique selling point that differentiates your titles in a crowded market.

Pharmaceutical & Biomedical Research

enterprise

Target: Pharma and biotech companies with massive image or data classification backlogs

If you are a pharma company sitting on terabytes of microscopy images or genomic data that need human classification — this project built a platform that distributes those tasks to millions of online gamers as seamless in-game challenges. Instead of hiring expensive annotation teams, you tap into an existing global workforce that plays for fun. The platform was validated with a consortium of 4 universities and tested through a CI beta setup.

Education Technology

SME

Target: EdTech companies building STEM engagement tools for schools and universities

If you are an EdTech company trying to make science education more engaging for students — this project created a gamification platform specifically designed to lower the threshold for participation in real scientific research. The MMOS Platform turns actual research problems into game-like experiences, giving students hands-on exposure to real data. With 12 deliverables covering everything from game engine modules to testing infrastructure, the technology is ready for integration into educational products.

Frequently asked

Quick answers

What would it cost to license or integrate this platform?

The project was funded with EUR 573,297 in EU contribution as an Innovation Action, and the coordinator MMOS SARL is a Swiss SME — meaning the technology was built with commercialization in mind. Specific licensing terms are not published in the project data. Contact the coordinator through SciTransfer for pricing discussions.

Can this scale to millions of users across multiple games?

The platform was designed specifically for massively multiplayer online environments, and the objective explicitly references tapping into billions of hours of global gaming time. The demo deliverables confirm 100% of client modules were implemented, indicating the architecture supports multiple game integrations. The 8-partner consortium across 7 countries tested cross-border deployment.

Who owns the intellectual property?

As an EU-funded Innovation Action, IP typically stays with the partners who generated it — in this case led by MMOS SARL (Switzerland). The platform and game engine modules were built by the consortium. Licensing arrangements would need to be negotiated directly with MMOS SARL.

How long would integration into an existing game take?

The project ran for 2.5 years (January 2017 to June 2019) to build the full platform from scratch. Based on available project data, the modular architecture with separate game engine and client modules suggests integration into an existing game could be significantly faster. The CI beta setup deliverable indicates automated testing is in place to support rapid deployment.

What types of scientific tasks can be embedded in games?

The objective describes tasks involving complex and massive data analysis across all scientific fields. The platform converts research tasks into challenges that match game mechanics, narrative, and visuals. Based on available project data, any task that can be broken into discrete human-solvable micro-problems is a candidate.

Is there regulatory or compliance risk in using gamer-generated data?

The project was funded under ICT-24-2016 and operated across 7 EU/EEA countries, meaning it was developed under EU data protection rules. The consortium included 4 universities, which typically enforce strict research ethics protocols. Specific GDPR compliance details would need to be confirmed with the coordinator.

Consortium

Who built it

The 8-partner consortium spans 7 countries (Belgium, Switzerland, France, Hungary, Iceland, Netherlands, Sweden), giving it broad European reach. With 3 industry partners (38% industry ratio) including 2 SMEs, the project has a practical commercialization bent — led by MMOS SARL, a Swiss private company and SME that serves as both coordinator and technology owner. The 4 universities and 1 research organization provide scientific credibility and access to real research tasks for the platform. For a business buyer, the key signal is that the coordinator is an SME with skin in the game, not an academic lab — meaning they have direct commercial motivation to license and support the technology.

KUNGLIGA TEKNISKA HOEGSKOLANparticipant · SE
UNIVERSITE DE GENEVEparticipant · CH
VIB VZWparticipant · BE
MUSEUM NATIONAL D'HISTOIRE NATURELLEparticipant · FR
UNIVERSITEIT VAN AMSTERDAMparticipant · NL

How to reach the team

MMOS SARL is a Swiss SME — SciTransfer can facilitate a direct introduction to discuss licensing, integration, or partnership opportunities.

Order a report on this consortium

Next steps

Talk to the team behind this work.

Want to explore how gamified crowd intelligence could solve your data processing bottleneck? SciTransfer connects you directly with the GAPARS team. Contact us for an introduction.

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