The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has launched a new program that seeks to bring together a diverse group of talented professionals worldwide to explore emerging science and technology applications through a combination of online game and social media tools.DARPA said Wednesday it seeks ideas on how to design an online collaborative platform that would integrate gamification strategies to engage global experts and thinkers as part of the Gamifying the Search for Strategic Surprise initiative.
The GS3 program also looks to develop a method to identify and fund research opportunities that arise from collaborative process, the agency added.
DARPA plans to release the platform to the public and invest in the resulting concepts following a period of development and testing assigned to a group of invited players.
“To succeed, DARPA must always have one foot in the future, and assessing emerging science and technology is part of that process,†said John Main, a program manager in DARPA’s Defense Sciences Office.
“With GS3 we hope to accomplish this analysis, including the exploratory stages of research and development, substantially faster and better by creating a dynamic environment where insights from a variety of individuals can reveal unexpected opportunities,†Main added.
