Here at Luminous, we have a team of hybrid and remote employees and to bring everyone together at different points in the year we host the highly anticipated Luminous Hack Events.
Luminous Hacks are a chance to bring everyone together, explore emerging technologies and explore new ways of thinking that can provide value to us as a business and any potential customers. Everyone attending splits into teams and is faced with a problem statement or challenge that they must come up with a solution for.
The Luminous Hacks happen at least every six months, with our previous hack happening at Christmas each team created applications using our content authoring tool, FLOW for Unity where teams created a range of training applications such as military training simulators. In our previous summer hack teams had to investigate a particular technology stream such as 3D scanning and reality capture for XR avatars, hand and gesture interactions with quest headsets. You can read about the Summer 2022 Hack, here.
For the Summer 2024 Hack, we decided on the theme of the Paris Olympics 2024, thinking about how we can use technology to help athletes train, recover and prepare for various Olympic Sports.
VR Training for Sports Teams and Athletes
Is VR training new for the Olympics or for sporting in general? Not at all. Athletes can use virtual reality to practice their form and technique. For example, NFL players can use VR to read defences and make decisions under pressure. Golfers can practice their swing, as well as putting techniques in environments that mimic different courses and conditions. Boxers can use virtual reality to practice with opponents and enhance their reflexes and improve strategy without the risk of injury. There are so many possibilities for XR technology in sport.
Virtual reality is not only used for perfecting practice, it can be used for injury rehabilitation and mindfulness.
What are the benefits of Virtual Reality for Sports Teams and Athletes?
VR sports training means players can practice repeatedly without risk of injury:
We all know the saying that practice makes perfect, and this is especially true in the world of sports. With virtual reality, trainees can go through various scenarios as many times as they need, helping them to master complex skills and procedures.
In-depth training data can provide a competitive advantage:
For managers and coaches of sports teams, the ability to gather intricate data such as player movements, reaction times and form about each individual team member in real time can provide a real competitive advantage.
One person cannot give everyone the same level of feedback when multiple people are playing at once. With virtual reality training data, coaches can properly assess data and get deeper insights that can help everyone individually.
Rehabilitation from Injury through risk-free practice:
Are there any success stories about athletes who have used virtual reality in their rehabilitation? Certainly. Romeo Lavia sustained an ankle injury in training just before his debut, as well as a thigh injury in his first game against Crystal Palace, meaning he couldn’t play for an entire season.
During his recovery time, Lavia used a virtual reality headset to prepare himself for his return by practising moments that he can expect to face at the pitch on return. His training in virtual reality paid off, resulting in an assist in his first game back.
Virtual reality can be incredible for athlete rehabilitation by bridging the gap between neurocognitive demands and complex multidirectional movements, helping them to prepare effectively for return and keeping players engaged whilst recovering.
For The Luminous Summer Hack, the brief for each team was to come up with an Olympics-inspired application such as a training simulator, fitness app, rest and recovery or wellness application and the opportunity to experiment with new technologies or techniques such as creating VR training content in the Unity games engine.
How can VR training be used in sports?
Team Sports
Virtual reality can work well for team sports training in the NFL, football, basketball, soccer and hockey. The ability to put on a headset anywhere in the world can mean sports players who live and travel globally can connect and strengthen their teamwork. VR simulations can be used to practice game situations, offensive and defensive strategies and collaborating and communicating as a team. Teams can then enhance co-ordination, and timing and improve their tactical understanding.
Individual Sports
Whilst VR can be great for connecting people across the globe, it’s also perfect for perfecting technique in individual sports. Virtual reality can be used for golf, tennis, boxing, skiing and more. By practising technique refinement and experiencing simulated competitive scenarios, athletes can ensure they’re the best in the game and data can be used to analyze and improve their performance.
Tactical Analysis & Strategy
One of the brilliant advantages of virtual reality is that coaches and athletes can analyze games, and individual team members and develop strategies by gathering data from athletes’ movements. This data contributes to the development of evidence-based training protocols, injury prevention strategies, and performance optimization techniques.
Coaches can recreate specific game scenarios, assess player positioning, evaluate tactical decisions, and make data-driven adjustments to improve team performance.
Fan Engagement and Viewing
Virtual reality is great for training, but its impact extends far beyond training and can be used to enhance the fan experience. VR means fans can immerse themselves in live or recorded sports events, offering unique perspectives and interactive features.
Virtual reality can provide a sense of presence, allowing fans to feel as if they are attending the game from the comfort of their homes.
Sports Specific Equipment Training
Virtual reality can be used to train athletes in the use of specialized sports equipment. For example, golfers can practice their swings using virtual golf clubs and simulate various course conditions. Tennis players can refine their racquet technique and improve shot accuracy by practising on virtual tennis courts. Athletes can adapt their skills to different scenarios before applying them in real-world settings.
Rehabilitation
Virtual reality can be a lifeline in the rehabilitation and recovery process for athletes suffering from injuries. VR simulations can provide interactive and engaging exercises that aid in regaining strength, balance, and mobility and can also be a big morale booster, helping to keep players engaged whilst they’re out of action.
Athletes can perform virtual rehabilitation exercises that mimic real-world movements, promoting faster recovery and reducing the risk of re-injury.
What Olympic Apps did each team create?
Olympic Boxing Simulator with Xbox Kinect
Team 1 showcased their Olympic Boxing Simulator and demonstrated how their app, powered by Xbox Kinect, enhances player accuracy, reaction times, and training form in real time. They discussed how their app can be developed for other hand-to-hand sports like Judo and Jujitsu.
Virtual Reality Throwing Simulator for Athletes
Team 2 took us through their immersive Throwing Simulator in Virtual Reality created in the Unreal Engine. From basketball to javelin, they showed us how their apps game mode and training modes, complete with scoreboards and leaderboards to drive performance. They also experimented with Move AI, a video-based animation app where characters can be used to help demonstrate correct form within the app.
Virtual Reality Olympic Bobsled Simulator
Team 3 demoed their Bobsled Simulator in VR which helps athletes master the tilt and memorize tracks to gain that crucial edge on the ice and insights into further developments like multi-user training, leaderboards, reaction time monitoring and adding steering and breaking mechanisms.
Virtual Reality Clay Pigeon Shooting with Health Tracking
Team 4 went into in-depth detail with their Clay Pigeon Shooting Training Simulator, showing the potential power of integrating health data like heart rate and response times into their app, using cutting-edge tech to refine shooting techniques and reaction times and replay movements.
Virtual Reality Clay Pigeon Shooting for Accuracy and Aim
Team 5 explained the process of their Clay Pigeon Shooting App and how they initially experimented with the Unreal Games Engine and the potential to use Unreal for projects in Luminous in the future, as well as potential areas for expansion within their app such as training for different guns and randomized projectile directions.