A project called Mood Challenge for ResearchKit is calling upon researchers and technologists to submit proposals for ResearchKit studies that will further our understanding of mood and how it relates to daily life. The Challenge, a New Venture Fund program funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and powered by Luminary Labs, will award $500,000 and provide finalists with expert mentorship and piloting opportunities.
Semi-finalists and finalists will contribute developments back to the open source community, making their submissions available for use in future ResearchKit studies. Entrants are encouraged to go beyond measuring the surface level of what we call emotion and mood to also explore contextual factors and social determinants such as weather, pollution, access to food, sleep, and social connectedness.
“We think platforms like ResearchKit have the potential to revolutionize how research is conducted, and we’re launching this competition to help explore that,” RWJF President and CEO Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, said in a statement. “We know that mood is one of the keys to health, but much more can be learned about the relationship between mood and the many social and economic factors that affect it, and our health. We’re thrilled to help advance research in this field that will help build a Culture of Health in America.”
Proposals for ResearchKit studies will be accepted through May 22, 2016. Five semi-finalists will receive $20,000 each and have the opportunity to develop their proposals into app designs during the Virtual Accelerator, which includes an in-person boot camp to help with the development of their designs. After that, two finalists will receive $100,000 and move ahead to the Finalist Incubation and Testing phase, during which teams will fully develop their designs into prototypes. Finally, one winner will be chosen to receive $200,000 to continue development and submit its app to the App Store.
Launched in early 2015, ResearchKit is an open source software framework designed by Apple that turns iPhone and Apple Watch into a tool for medical research by helping doctors, scientists, and other researchers gather data more frequently and more accurately from participants anywhere in the world.