HBA Lab

Game design & Science [2008-2017]
The applicability of serious gaming – as an innovative breakthrough technology – drives our research and technology development activities for several years now. From both a research and business perspective, we will capitalize on this body of knowledge and focus our efforts on the most promising area, namely game based learning and assessment. Therefore, the objective of our multi-year Research & Technology roadmap is on the design and development of various types of innovative game based training concepts driven by external market demands, needs and requirements. Our research on game based learning and assessment will be approached from two research directions: (1) Intelligent Games and (2) Game Intelligence. Research on ‘Intelligent Games’ focus on game design frameworks, game based learning and assessment paradigms, model driven game engineering, embodied interaction (brain-computer interaction, physiological bio-signal interfaces), adaptive game systems (interactive narratives, believable characters, augmented reality). An important research area is to develop new innovative training concepts to support judgment and decision making on individual and group levels, on tactical and strategic levels, for different situations (e.g. planning, coordination & cooperation, meaningful communication, improvisation, creativity & problem solving). The second research direction ‘Game Intelligence’ focuses on using games as research instruments, so-called ‘Microworlds’ to study human cognition. We provide game analytics to facilitate and support research regarding dynamic decision-making (DDM). Game based microworlds become the laboratory analogues for real-life situations and help DDM investigators to study decision-making by compressing time and space while maintaining experimental control.

T-Xchange: Research Collaboration between Thales and Twente University
The T-Xchange is research collaboration between Thales Research & Technology (TRT) Netherlands and Twente University. The first agreement covered the 2008-2012 period. The current collaboration agreement period runs for five years 2013-2017. Organization wise the T-Xchange is led by a director, the researchers are affiliated with Thales Research & Technology or Twente University. The steering group of the T-Xchange consists of Lukas Roffel (CTO), Thales Netherlands and Prof. dr. ir. Fred van Houten (Twente University). Over the years T-Xchange has worked together with several academia, knowledge institutes, companies and end user organizations and we realized dozens of serious game projects. We therefore acknowledge the valuable inputs, knowledge exchanges, and fruitful collaborations with them. Funding through self funded R&D Thales and Grants

Research projects (selection)
• Data2Game (NWO) 2017-2020
• Unobtrusive assessment of competency (Tech4People) 2016-2017
• Thales Leadership Game (Thales University)
• Braintrain (FP7)
• SimFish (UiT The Artic University of Norway)
• Zoonotics (ZonMW)
• SynchromodalIT (Dinalog)
• RiverCare/Virtual River (STW)
• Total Blackout (HSD)
• De Crisis Communicatie Game (HSD)
• Aerogame (WP-E)
• COMMIT/Valorization/Game based knowledge engineering (FES)
• COMMIT/Valorization/Non-lineair game play (FES)
• COMMIT/P2 (FES)
• In Service Support Game (Thales)
• Gasolution (KVGN)
• GO4IT (MinDef)
• GATE – Burgemeestersgame
• TOKO – trainingsomgeving-voor-multi-disciplinair-grootschalig-ketenoptreden (RVO)
• Virtuele Veiligheids Academy
• Urban Matters Game (Cordaid)
• Showcase Veilig Nederland Den Haag (PID Zuidvleugel)
• VOSS (MinDef)
• Luchthaven Twente Game (VTM)

Awards
• GO4IT wins INNOVATION AWARD MinDef 2009
• In Service Support Game wins DI-WCM MAINTENANCE AWARENESS AWARD 2013