Sports training in virtual reality with a focus on visual perception: a systematic review

Area of Science:

• Sports Science
• Human-Computer Interaction
• Motor Learning

Background:

• Visual perception is critical for athletic performance.
• Virtual Reality (VR) is increasingly adopted for sports training.
• The role of visual elements in VR sports training requires examination.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the application fields and domains of VR in sports.
• To identify key considerations for developing VR training tools, focusing on visual perception.
• To clarify the necessity of visualizing bodies in VR training environments.

Main Methods:

• A comprehensive literature search was conducted across five major databases (PsychInfo, Pubmed, Scopus, SportDiscus, IEEE Explore).
• The review included English-language review and original articles published between January 2015 and March 2024.
• Qualitative analysis was performed on the selected 12 review and 46 research articles.

Main Results:

• VR applications in sports have expanded from endurance to nearly all sports, including team, martial arts, and individual disciplines.
• Common VR training domains include motor learning, visual perception, decision-making, anticipation skills, and sport-specific drills.
• Visual aids in VR, such as varied perspectives and movement trajectory displays, can optimize training and motor learning.

Conclusions:

• VR offers significant potential for visually supporting sports training and motor learning.
• Training based on visual perception in VR has proven effective across numerous sports.
• Future research should compare VR and real-world training, investigate transfer effects, and explore optimal VR training parameters (frequency, duration, intensity).