Sea Hero has been downloaded by one million users in only two weeks since its launch
Users have provided scientists with data corresponding to more than 1,500 years of standard research
The game was developed by Deutsche Telekom in cooperation with scientists and game developers
The mobile game Sea Hero, which was launched on 4 May 2016 by Deutsche Telekom and its subsidiary T-Mobile in the Czech Republic, has been downloaded by one million users. The original objective of 100,000 downloads by the end of the year was achieved within one day of the game’s introduction. The feedback from players has been positive in the vast majority of cases, with the game being rated with an average of five stars according to more than 45,000 reviews in Google Play and the Apple Store. To date, users have spent the equivalent of more than 11 years playing Sea Hero.
“Sea Hero is a huge step forward for scientists in the field of dementia research. In laboratory conditions, it would take us more than 1,500 years to collect the same amount of data that people have already provided by playing the game,” says the specialist sponsor of the project in the Czech Republic, Prof. MUDr. Jakub Hort, Ph.D., of the Department of Neurology, 2nd Faculty of Medicine, Charles University in Prague and Motol University Hospital.
The game will enable doctors to gather the most extensive set of anonymised data on human spatial navigation worldwide, the deterioration of which is one of the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, the most frequent cause of dementia. This will help scientists to better understand the process and subsequently develop new, more precise tests to diagnose dementia and progress in the treatment of this condition.
The development of Sea Hero was led by Saatchi & Saatchi London and independent game developers Glitchers on behalf of Deutsche Telekom. Collaborators on the project included University College London, University of East Anglia, prominent UK universities, and Alzheimer’s Research UK, the UK's leading Alzheimer's and dementia research charity. In the coming months, University College London will analyse the anonymised data provided by users playing the game.
The local partner of the Sea Hero project in the Czech Republic is the Alzheimer’s Endowment Fund (for more information, please visit alzheimernf.cz).
The Sea Hero game can be downloaded free of charge on Google Play and the Apple Store. More information about Sea Hero is available in this press release and at seahero.cz.