Sports in Virtual Reality

A little bit about me!

              Welcome to my blog about Sports in Virtual Reality, a newly advanced and improvised way of experiencing physical activity in a virtual environment. My name is Ronell Garcia and I am currently in my last semester doing Information Technology at SAIT also known as Southern Alberta Institute of Technology. I’ve never been that tech-savvy and have only recently been more inclined to learn about how computers work and how technology is such a major factor in the world today. My interest in technology has grown year by year and allowing myself to further grow within the course of Information Technology has only made it that much sweeter.

What is Virtual Reality (VR)

              Let’s start with our main topic at hand. When you were younger did you ever dream of what it would ever feel like to be in a world, where it wasn’t your world? Where your life wasn’t your life but of a different reality and perspective through another human’s eyes or a dog? Well that is what Virtual Reality is or what it is hoping to become in the near future.

VR is a simulated experience that is similar to what the real world can offer, as it mimics as much of it possible with even added extras to elevate the experience. The evolution of VR is imminent and ever-growing, some of these ideas can even date back to the 1800s. [1] Although “Virtual Reality” as a term wasn’t put into fruition until the 1980’s where a man named Jaron Lanier, who is considered to be the founder of Virtual Reality developed the necessary gear to allow for the simulated reality. Jaron Lanier was at the time developing helmets and gloves for this virtual reality environment. Here’s a photo in the 1980’s of the so called “Eyephone” which I found quite funny, since the “Iphone” is very much one of the leading technologies in the world today although it doesn’t bear the same type of qualities. [2]

              But this gear allowed these two people to demonstrate the virtual reality allowing them to see and move objects around in that created environment. At first the gear looks odd and abnormally large but this has been the design for even the current Virtual Reality platforms that are out in the market now [2].

By the use of this gear it can create a truly immersive concept of virtual reality, using a frame rate of minimum 60fps is key while having a competent refresh rate will allow the visuals on screen to look high definition. These keys will allow things such as your GPU to process more images per second while also allowing the refresh rates pace to render images. Another major factor is the FOV which is the Field of View, this is mainly between 100-degrees to 180-degrees. This allows the user to see the extent of where the eyes and head of the user can see during the use of VR. It’s amazing how a design from the 1980’s has been the foundation of what these present platforms take their inspiration from and how much further VR has gone in the likeliness of it being used in everyday tools.

Why Technology (VR) in Sports

With technology such as Virtual Reality becoming popular by the day, the reality of it becoming more essential also grows. Pro Sports in our world is probably viewed by millions of people everyday around the world and what better way is there to expose the world of a brilliant technology than to have it coexist with something already so popular. Sports nowadays have also grown, not only in methods of allowing athletes to become more durable and healthier but by using the right technology for the right sport can be viable. Technology is constantly revolutionizing sports whether it be involved with their training by tracking their performance, perfecting athletic movements and allowing athletes to become more injury prone. Within technology comes potential and that potential can also be passed on to athletes of any sport.

American Football which is widely known to be the most popular sport in the United States, boasts a high number of athletes who play this sport annually in the US [3]. With that comes a ton of physical burden of every individual, outside of actual games. Bringing in VR can be expensive but beneficial to this cause. Although at the moment, within VR it has its many limitations. These limitations are found in the physical aspect of athletes, as it may fail to deliver that immersive feeling that is well known in the real environment. [4]

Aside from that, VR can be more beneficial than it can be detrimental to athlete’s success. In a world where a pandemic can dictate and disallow so many options humans have, sports take a real hit on that. But by implementing Virtual Reality to the many pro sports and non-pro, athletes can possibly reenact and relive these real-life situations. Practices will be different but allow for more safety protocols which then lets athletes be healthier and more prone to injuries. [4] Hands-on experiences can still be intact, coaching could be more advanced giving easier and better ways to explain to athlete’s what is to be expected, and vice-versa players will have a way to express their own concerns and observations. In most sports this will prove to be successful since it will be easier to create these scenarios and test for different plays.

In this example of “QBSIM” from Sports VTS, it mimics and simulates a quarterback throwing a football and training in a virtual environment where it is safe but allows for the dynamics of real-life American football. In doing so this gives athletes room to analyze and run through scenarios without risking injury. By allowing the quarterback to actually also throw a football gives that dynamic experience.

Other Sports using Virtual Reality

American Football is a good start to where Virtual Reality can play a major factor, as football ties in with the work of a team, constant use of playbooks, coaching, worldwide events, etc. The question is what about the other sports? Have they started to implement technology such as VR, more or less the individual ones. Yes, team sports such as Basketball (NBA) and Soccer have seen an increase of use for VR as it can impact an athlete’s growth in training and can be a game-changer when used for replays so that athlete’s and coaches are able to analyze the game from different perspectives. Although at the moment the main use of VR has been towards the use of fans, giving them a whole new experience of watching the game and how they can interact virtually. Other known sports such as Nascar and Poker have been involved as well, by strapping on a VR headset they are put into the world and is able to analyze skills and knowledge of the sport.  [3]

If put into perspective, even within the likes of VR such as in football, soccer or basketball which requires a team, so far, the equipment that has been made is geared towards the isolated individual who then is brought into that virtual world with virtual teammates. There are so many benefits to that especially now in a world that is plagued with a pandemic. Isolation is key into staying healthy and successful, but still gives athletes the right motivation and knowledge of the sport they love to play.

What is a good brand of VR on the market today?

Other than the QBSIM that was mentioned earlier, that is still using the power of just headgear which may include a headset, a device such as a thick pair of goggles that goes over your eyes. Depending on what you use for VR, it can be as simple as using a smartphone that has those capabilities such as Samsung. STRIVR a leading company in VR started as simple as football and technology being combined and how they can coexist to better one another. Their focus is on the impact of immersive learning and revolutionizing the way humans train and perform above standard. Keeping people engaged, prepared and developing skills much faster via data-driven insights. Derek Belch former assistant coach of the Stanford Football team, now founder of STRIVR explored these ideas and realized how VR can effectively affect our brains and how that it was a stepping stone into more expansive learning. [5]

Conclusion

To sum up everything that has been stated so far, is that Virtual Reality will become a game changer whenever it is fully ready to be implemented into the world of sports. It has been in the making for years now and has been thought of in early history dating back to the 1800s. The potential of Virtual Reality is endless, and has so many components that could be added on to make it that much more important. This quote has definitely started paving the way for Virtual Reality in future sports and future athletes, you just needed someone who was invested in both sports and technology to make it happen. [5]

 It is just a matter of implementing this technology not just into sports but into other things that could fully require VR in their field of work. In my next Blog-series we will explore in what other ways can Virtual Reality impact a user such as its pros and cons and what can developers do to make it more immersive than it already is.

References

[1]

F. Institute, "History of Virtual Reality," [Online]. Available: https://www.fi.edu/virtual-reality/history-of-virtual-reality. [Accessed 26 February 2021].

[2]

Flashbak, "Jaron Lanier’s EyePhone: Head And Glove Virtual Reality In The 1980s," [Online]. Available: https://flashbak.com/jaron-laniers-eyephone-head-and-glove-virtual-reality-in-the-1980s-26180/ . [Accessed 26 February 2021].

[3]

VIAR, "Sports Benefiting Virtual Reality," [Online]. Available: https://www.viar360.com/5-sports-benefiting-virtual-reality/. [Accessed 26 February 2021].

[4]

"How Technology is Revolutionizing Sports Training," 3 February 2020. [Online]. Available: https://onlinemasters.ohio.edu/blog/how-technology-is-revolutionizing-sports-training/. [Accessed 26 February 2021].

[5]

"STRIVR," [Online]. Available: https://www.strivr.com/. [Accessed 26 February 2021].

[6]

AP, "AP News," [Online]. Available: https://apnews.com/hub/nba.

[7]

"QBSIM: Revolutionary Tech For Training Quarterbacks," [Online]. Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4xbAi_h7taw.