The efficacy of virtual reality in professional soccer

Professional soccer clubs have taken an interest to virtual reality, however, only a paucity of evidence exists to support its use in the soccer training ground environment. Further, several soccer virtual reality companies have begun providing solutions to teams, claiming to test specific characteristics of players, yet supportive evidence for certain measurement properties remain absent from the literature. The aims of this thesis were to explore the efficacy of virtual reality being used in the professional football training ground environment. To do so, this thesis looked to explore the fundamental measurement properties of soccer specific virtual reality tests, along with the perceptions of professional coaches, backroom staff, and players that could use virtual reality. The first research study (Chapter 3) aimed to quantify the learning effect during familiarisation trials of a soccer-specific virtual reality task. Thirty-four professional soccer players age, stature, and body mass: mean (SD) 20 (3.4) years; 180 (7) cm; 79 (8) kg, participated in six trials of a virtual reality soccer passing task. The task required participants to receive and pass 30 virtual soccer balls into highlighted mini-goals that surrounded the participant. The number of successful passes were recorded in each trial. The one-sided Bayesian paired samples t-test indicated very strong evidence in favour of the alternative hypothesis (H1)(BF10 = 46.5, d = 0.56 [95% CI = 0.2 to 0.92]) for improvements in total goals scored between trial 1: 13.6 (3.3) and trial 2: 16 (3.3). Further, the Bayesian paired-samples equivalence t-tests indicated strong evidence in favour of H1 (BF10 = 10.2, d = 0.24 [95% CI = -0.09 to 0.57]) for equivalence between trial 4: 16.7 (3.7) and trial 5: 18.2 (4.7); extreme evidence in favour of H1 (BF10 = 132, d = -0.02 [95% CI = -0.34 to 0.30]) for equivalence between trials 5 and 6: 18.1 (3.5); and moderate evidence in favour of H1 (BF10 = 8.4, d = 0.26 [95% CI = -0.08 to 0.59]) for equivalence between trials 4 and 6. Sufficient evidence indicated that a learning effect took place between the first two trials, and that up to five trials might be necessary for performance to plateau in a specific virtual reality soccer passing task.The second research study (Chapter 4) aimed to assess the validity of a soccer passing task by comparing passing ability between virtual reality and real-world conditions. A previously validated soccer passing test was replicated into a virtual reality environment. Twenty-nine soccer players participated in the study which required them to complete as many passes as possible between two rebound boards within 45 s. Counterbalancing determined the condition order, and then for each condition, participants completed four familiarisation trials and two recorded trials, with the best score being used for analysis. Sense of presence and fidelity were also assessed via questionnaires to understand how representative the virtual environments were compared to the real-world. Results showed that between conditions a difference was observed (EMM = -3.9, 95% HDI = -5.1 to -2.7) with the number of passes being greater in the real-world (EMM = 19.7, 95% HDI = 18.6 to 20.7) than in virtual reality (EMM = 15.7, 95% HDI = 14.7 to 16.8). Further, several subjective differences for fidelity between the two conditions were reported, notably the ability to control the ball in virtual reality which was suggested to have been more difficult than in the real-world. The last research study (Chapter 5) aimed to compare and quantify the perceptions of virtual reality use in soccer, and to model behavioural intentions to use this technology. This study surveyed the perceptions of coaches, support staff, and players in relation to their knowledge, expectations, influences, and barriers of using virtual reality via an internet-based questionnaire. To model behavioural intention, modified questions and constructs from the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology were used, and the model was analysed through partial least squares structural equation modelling. Respondents represented coaches and support staff (n = 134) and players (n = 64). All respondents generally agreed that virtual reality should be used to improve tactical awareness and cognition, with its use primarily in performance analysis and rehabilitation settings. Generally, coaches and support staff agreed that monetary cost, coach buy-in and limited evidence base were barriers towards its use. In a sub-sample of coaches and support staff without access to virtual reality (n = 123), performance expectancy was the strongest construct in explaining behavioural intention to use virtual reality, followed by facilitating conditions (i.e., barriers) construct which had a negative association with behavioural intention. This thesis aimed to explore the measurement properties of soccer specific virtual reality tests, and the perceptions of staff and players who might use the technology. The key findings from exploring the measurement properties were (1) evidence of a learning curve, suggesting the need for multiple familiarisation trials before collecting data, and (2) a lack of evidence to support the validity of a virtual reality soccer passing test as evident by a lack of agreement to a real-world equivalent. This finding raises questions on the suitability for virtual reality being used to measure passing skill related performance. The key findings from investigating the perceptions of users included, using the technology to improve cognition and tactical awareness, and using it in rehabilitation and performance analysis settings. Future intention to use was generally positive, and driven by performance related factors, yet several barriers exist that may prevent its widespread use. In Chapter 7 of the thesis, a reflective account is presented for the reader, detailing some of the interactions made with coaches, support staff and players in relation to the personal, moral, and ethical challenges faced as a practitioner-researcher, working and studying, respectively, in a professional soccer club

Eye quietness and quiet eye in expert and novice golf performance: an electrooculographic analysis

Quiet eye (QE) is the final ocular fixation on the target of an action (e.g., the ball in golf putting). Camerabased eye-tracking studies have consistently found longer QE durations in experts than novices; however, mechanisms underlying QE are not known. To offer a new perspective we examined the feasibility of measuring the QE using electrooculography (EOG) and developed an index to assess ocular activity across time: eye quietness (EQ). Ten expert and ten novice golfers putted 60 balls to a 2.4 m distant hole. Horizontal EOG (2ms resolution) was recorded from two electrodes placed on the outer sides of the eyes. QE duration was measured using a EOG voltage threshold and comprised the sum of the pre-movement and post-movement initiation components. EQ was computed as the standard deviation of the EOG in 0.5 s bins from –4 to +2 s, relative to backswing initiation: lower values indicate less movement of the eyes, hence greater quietness. Finally, we measured club-ball address and swing durations. T-tests showed that total QE did not differ between groups (p = .31); however, experts had marginally shorter pre-movement QE (p = .08) and longer post-movement QE (p < .001) than novices. A group × time ANOVA revealed that experts had less EQ before backswing initiation and greater EQ after backswing initiation (p = .002). QE durations were inversely correlated with EQ from –1.5 to 1 s (rs = –.48 - –.90, ps = .03 - .001). Experts had longer swing durations than novices (p = .01) and, importantly, swing durations correlated positively with post-movement QE (r = .52, p = .02) and negatively with EQ from 0.5 to 1s (r = –.63, p = .003). This study demonstrates the feasibility of measuring ocular activity using EOG and validates EQ as an index of ocular activity. Its findings challenge the dominant perspective on QE and provide new evidence that expert-novice differences in ocular activity may reflect differences in the kinematics of how experts and novices execute skills

“Woodlands” - a Virtual Reality Serious Game Supporting Learning of Practical Road Safety Skills.

In developed societies road safety skills are taught early and often practiced under the supervision of a parent, providing children with a combination of theoretical and practical knowledge. At some point children will attempt to cross a road unsupervised, at that point in time their safety depends on the effectiveness of their road safety education. To date, various attempts to supplement road safety education with technology were made. Most common approach focus on addressing declarative knowledge, by delivering road safety theory in an engaging fashion. Apart from expanding on text based resources to include instructional videos and animations, some stakeholders (e.g.: Irish Road Safety Authority) attempt to take advantage of game-based learning [1]. However, despite the high capacity for interaction being common in Virtual Environments, available game-based solutions to road safety education are currently limited to delivering and assessing declarative knowledge

Paralympic VR: an immersive experience

Paralympic VR: an immersive experience is based on exploratory research and consists in the production of a 360 video-prototype that aims to give special access to the wheelchair basketball training universe, bringing the users close to Paralympic athletes without the need to hide the impairment or hyper focus on the stories behind the disability. Media coverage of Paralympic sports and the representation of disabled athletes have been changing, but still present a medicalised framing, a narrative where the athletes are commonly portrayed as heroes due to the overcoming of difficulties related to the impairment and not to the sports results. This present project work considers immersive journalism and the use of virtual reality technologies as the means by which an alternative approach and a better representation of Paralympians are possible. The project presents the description of the workflow process, detailing conceptualization decisions, technical aspects and, mainly, the challenges and lessons learned. A user study combining focus groups and online survey was also conducted in order to have insights about the experience of watching the video with the headset Samsung Gear VR. Feedback provided by participants indicated that the prototype accomplished its aim. Recommendations to improve future work were also gathered.Paralympic VR: an immersive experience baseia-se em investigação exploratória e consiste na produção de um vídeo 360 graus que visa dar acesso especial ao universo de treino do basquete em cadeira de rodas, aproximando os utilizadores dos atletas paralímpicos sem a necessidade de ocultar a deficiência ou dar grande enfoque às histórias por detrás da deficiência. A cobertura do desporto paralímpico nos media e a representação dos atletas com deficiência está a transformar-se, mas ainda apresenta uma abordagem medicalizada, uma narrativa em que os atletas são comumente retratados como heróis devido à superação de dificuldades relacionadas à deficiência e não em virtude aos resultados desportivos. O jornalismo imersivo e o uso de tecnologias de realidade virtual são considerados no presente trabalho de projeto os meios pelos quais é possível uma abordagem alternativa e uma melhor representação dos atletas paralímpicos. O projeto apresenta a descrição de todo o processo de produção do vídeo-protótipo, detalhando decisões de conceito, aspectos técnicos e, principalmente, os desafios e lições aprendidas. Um estudo com utilizadores combinando grupos de foco e questionário on-line também foi conduzido para a recolha de perceções sobre a experiência de assistir ao vídeo com o headset Samsung Gear VR. Os comentários fornecidos pelos participantes indicaram que o protótipo atingiu seu objetivo. Importantes recomendações para a melhoria de futuras experiências também foram reunidas

Tactical Preparation in Sport Games and Motivational Teaching of Sport Games Tactics in Physical Education Lessons and Training Units

In this chapter, we deal with issues that are relevant to educational processes where the cultivation of game performance is a primary or parallel goal. Developmental tendencies in sport games focus not only on the content of the training process, its rationalization and optimization, but also on the content of teaching sport games, which recently have significantly influenced the preparation and preparedness of players and pupils in school physical education and in training process too. Didactic process in sport games is understood as a system of interactions (mutual relationships and mutual influence) among the main subsystems: pupils or players, teacher or coach, content and conditions with the intention to cultivate the game performance of individuals or team. Tactics, generally refers to a player’s system of acting, system of various alternatives of decision-making responses, which allows in a time-bounded concept of a goal realize player’s conduct and team’s conduct within the short-term relation. Chapter provides the comparison of traditional approach and approach of teaching games for understanding. Teaching tactics in physical education and training process is very important part of educational process and the motivation for learning is an integral part of whole activity

Beyond the Screen: Reshaping the Workplace with Virtual and Augmented Reality

Although extended reality technologies have enjoyed an explosion in popularity in recent years, few applications are effectively used outside the entertainment or academic contexts. This work consists of a literature review regarding the effective integration of such technologies in the workplace. It aims to provide an updated view of how they are being used in that context. First, we examine existing research concerning virtual, augmented, and mixed-reality applications. We also analyze which have made their way to the workflows of companies and institutions. Furthermore, we circumscribe the aspects of extended reality technologies that determined this applicability