VIRTUAL REALITY FOR SPORT PSYCHOLOGY TRAINING
Based upon the success of Virtual Reality Exposure Therapy (VRET), where phobic patients are treated for their fears using virtual environments, I was curious to explore the potential of virtual reality as a training platform for high-anxiety sport situations. Using Virginia Tech’s VisCube (a 4-walled immersive VR display), I developed an application for soccer goalkeepers to defend against penalty kicks. Multiple environments were created, with varying degrees of fidelity and anxiety triggers. The application was used for two studies, one with high-level goalkeepers and the other with regular population. Using physiological sensors and surveys we were able to determine that anxiety could be triggered in users, suggesting that VR has potential for sport psychology training.
VIRTUAL REALITY FOR BIOMECHANICAL TRAINING
This system was developed to explore the potential for VR to support sport biomechanical training. The system was aimed at adolescents aged 5-12 who were looking to improve their jumping ability. The system uses the Microsoft Kinect to provide real-time, full-body tracking to turn a common plyometric exercise (continuous lateral jumping) into a video game. The user’s movements control a cartoon avatar, and they must jump back-and-forth between two rocks floating in a sea of lava. If they take too much time between jumps, or if they do not jump a far enough distance (based on their height), the avatar sinks into the lava, points are lost, and a new avatar appears. While the user is playing the game, the system analyzes the jumping biomechanics. When the round is over, users are shown images depicting their biomechanical performance and tips for improvement. The purpose of the biomechanical analysis is twofold: (1) to improve the user’s jumping ability, and (2) to reduce the risk of injuries associated with poor jumping technique.
