Gaming and Education

EyeWire is a “citizen science” community created to test the hypothesis that the uniqueness of a person, from memories to mental disorders, lies in his or her connectome. Created by the team at MIT’s Seung Lab, EyeWire enlists “citizen scientists” to analyze nanoscale brain images using web browsers and mobile devices. They trace the “wires” of the brain as if it was a 3D jigsaw puzzle consisting of image pieces computed by artificial intelligence. The experience relies on the spectacular graphics and other motivators of video gaming, but allows users to apply their minds to a worthy cause.

EyeWire launched on December 10, 2012, J Day. Over the past several months, members of Sebastian Seung’s lab at MIT had been hard at work making sure EyeWire allows users to accurately contribute to research. During the beta period, an average of 30 to 50 people played EyeWire each day.  Collectively…