High-Level Project Summary
The PolarCrypt is an application we that allows people to become aware of the negative consequences of climate change through an interactive game in which, through different activities, the culture of environmental protection is enhanced while at the same time generating economic support based on a cryptocurrency with social meaning .
Link to Final Project
Link to Project "Demo"
Detailed Project Description
Problem
NASA takes a lot of information with a high technical and scientific degree to address different investigations, however, the quantity and variety of this information opens up a great possibility to address different problems that may correspond to other phenomena such as the effects of climate change. . Specifically, the results obtained from The Arctic-Boreal Vulnerability Experiment (ABoVE) project studying how ecosystems in Alaska and western Canada respond to a changing climate are available, in which different variables and images captured by airplanes in conjunction with networks are taken into account. of sensors available in the area, all this information supports the state of alarm in which the planet is and its effects on the north pole such as the decrease in the ice cap and the release of permafrost that exponentially affect the planet, something of the which the population in general is not sufficiently aware of the negative impact that this generates.
Considering this, an awareness campaign is required that has the capacity to reach the largest possible audience in an attractive way to transmit this information and generate a positive impact that compensates for the damage present in the environment.
Solution
The interactive web game PolarCrypt was developed, in which different natural habitats are simulated with their corresponding endemic species, this generate a connection with the user. The background of the environment will be based on the information collected by meteorology services available in the user's location, so that the current state of their own residence is reflected as closely as possible with data taken in real time!, so that the direct impact that human actions are having on the inability to remain in a healthy environment. In the game there will be a series of mini-games and advance missions that will allow you to obtain a score, which is based on a famous cryptocurrency such as Ethereum so that you can obtain a net profit by participating in the game.
Space Agency Data
In this project the data hosted in The Arctic-Boreal Vulnerability Experiment (ABoVE) are used, specifically the data of the Soil Respiration Maps for the ABoVE Domain, 2016-2017. The most notable variables that are used to give the user information on the state of the arctic correspond to CO2, snow depth, and permafrost. since these show clearly and in a simple way the direct effects on the polar circle.
Hackathon Journey
The experience in the space challenge was very enriching, which allowed each of the team members to be challenged and take them beyond where they thought they could go, it was very useful to know the great variety of resources that NASA provides to the world and the Multiple uses that can be given to this data. The Take flight challenge: making the most of NASA's airborne data was chosen as it showed a great opportunity to contribute to climate change and the negative effects of global warming through awareness and making the most of existing data. Special thanks to Enrique Mazano for his support during the development of the challenge.
References
[1] «Earthdata Search». https://search.earthdata.nasa.gov/search.
[2] J. D. Watts, S. Natali, y C. Minions, «Soil Respiration Maps for the ABoVE Domain, 2016-2017», ORNL DAAC, abr. 2022, doi: 10.3334/ORNLDAAC/1935.
[3] «Consumo energético de Ethereum», ethereum.org. https://ethereum.org.
[4] R. Hunicke, M. LeBlanc, y R. Zubek, «MDA: un enfoque formal al diseño y la investigación de juegos», p. 6.
Tags
#climate, #environmental_care, #arctic, #education_game