The lab site:
The GAMES Lab (Game-based Models) was founded in 2014 by Dr. Eran Ben-Elia.
Many of the problems associated with human spatial systems like cities and transportation involve and emerge from social dilemmas. These are complex spatial systems where human beings socially interact and who behaviours affect and are affected by the behaviour of the system. Our lab develops serious games, game-based models and spatially-explicit agent-based simulations to advance theory and establish new methodologies to study emerging dynamics . Serious games are not for the sake of pure entertainment. These games are virtual systems where players engage in carefully designed artificial conflicts. Serious games allow implicitly investigating emergent phenomena and inference of human behaviours in dynamic and realistic contexts. Game-based models (GBM) fuse together agent-based models (ABM) with serious games. Games provide realism and consistent human decision rules while ABM simulate the dynamics of collective human decision making. Thus GBM are a natural tool for studying social dynamics in complex spatial systems and finding sustainable solutions to mitigate social dilemmas. In the smart city age some of emerging solutions can be enabled through information and communication technologies (ICT) that influence how humans make spatially relevant decisions like location, activity, schedule, route or transport mode and encourage various forms of cooperation to efficiently and equitably solve socio-spatial dilemmas using future and emerging technologies.
Examples of recent research projects include:
(1) Co-evolution of traffic congestion and drivers' cooperation for optimal traffic flow on road networks.
(2) A fully immersive Virtual Reality parking game using state-of-the-art Oculus Rift® VR gear to investigate urban parking dynamics.
(3) A serious game for Real estate professionals to investigate city development dynamics.
(4) Investigating ridesharing and smart adaptive public transport based on mobile phone data and using the MATSim simulation environment.
(5) Effects of navigation aids on the spatial awareness and knowledge of drivers
More information can be found in our lab website and you are more than welcome to drop in to play a game or two J
We are located in the main campus, building 72, room 507.
