We all know video games are fun, but can they actually improve our lives beyond their value as entertainment? The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation believes so, and is spending $1.85 million in grant money to help nine research teams study how video games can help make people healthier.
The nine research teams were chosen from 185 proposals, and will receive between $100,000 and $300,000 each to conduct one- to two-year studies. Some of the plans include studying how DDR might help Parkinson’s patients increase stability, and how Wii Active could be used in high schools to help students lose weight. Two more groups will test to see if a mobile phone game with a “breath interface” can help smokers reduce their tobacco use, and if a video game featuring facial recognition can help autistic children learn to identify the emotions of other people.
You can find out more information about the project at the foundation’s website.