“Help us map one of the most beautiful forms of life we know of.”

April 17, 2020 9:38 AM

NeMO-Net: Help NASA Save the World's Coral By Playing a Video Game “In NeMO-NET, players use their iPhone, iPad, or computer to virtually travel into the ocean’s depths, identifying and classifying all the corals they encounter. The images are taken from real life ocean expeditions, and playing the game will help scientists create a better map of the world’s coral that can help with conservation efforts before reefs get wiped out. For the past several years, scientists from NASA’s Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley have observed the world’s oceans, using new tools that correct for the optical distortion of the water to display a clearer, more detailed look below the ocean’s surface. By mounting the new instruments on drones and aircrafts, the scientists have obtained 3D images of corals, algae, and seagrass on the ocean floor over the course of expeditions to Puerto Rico, Guam, and American Samoa. But now, the scientists have to sort through all that data, which is where the game comes in.” [via: Gizmodo][YouTube][Game Trailer]
posted by Fizz (10 comments total)

By computer does it mean Apple only? I couldn't find a link to play in a browser.
posted by aniola at 1:19 PM on April 17, 2020

I couldn't find a computer link either. And in the Apple store the only available iPad Air is the 3rd generation; I have a 2nd.
posted by CathyG at 1:26 PM on April 17, 2020

I'm playing on an iphone.
posted by joannemerriam at 1:49 PM on April 17, 2020

Aww my 2011 MacBook Air can't seem to run it. If they had a Windows version, my gaming PC would render those 3D corals quite decently.
posted by polymodus at 2:11 PM on April 17, 2020

My 2014 Macbook Air won't run it either.
posted by jacquilynne at 5:33 PM on April 17, 2020

Why on earth would they restrict this to iOS and macOS devices.
posted by zekesonxx at 6:02 PM on April 17, 2020 [3 favorites]

This reminds of something from the Neal Stephensonian Near Future Utopia that we could have had but now have almost definitely missed out on
posted by Philby at 8:40 PM on April 17, 2020

Very relaxing, and a nice diversion. Thanks for posting.
posted by kinnakeet at 9:30 PM on April 17, 2020

Since I can't play this on my Android phone, will someone please explain how playing this game actually helps the scientists? I can't wrap my brain around that.
posted by KleenexMakesaVeryGoodHat at 7:01 PM on April 19, 2020

As I understand it, it's helping train the AI/machine learning part to recognize what's coral and what isn't. By having humans reviewing images and marking what is coral and what isn't, the neural net/whatever it is (I'm interested enough in this to follow Janelle Shane's blog but apparently not enough to keep up with accurate terminology) gets better at categorizing, with the ultimate goal being it being "smart" enough to classify coral/not-coral on its own.

(I feel guilty, but I found the tutorial tedious enough that I deleted the app. Sea Hero Quest (previously) was at least more fun to play.)
posted by Lexica at 9:37 PM on April 19, 2020