Virtual Reality in Sport

Woman running in virtual reality

Virtual reality is used as a training aid in many sports such as golf, athletics, skiing, cycling etc. It is used as an aid to measuring athletic performance as well as analysing technique and is designed to help with both of these. It also used in clothing/equipment design and as part of the drive to improve the audience’s experience.

Virtual reality performance

The athlete uses this technology to fine tune certain aspects of their performance, for example, a golfer looking to improve their swing or a track cyclist wanting to go faster in the individual pursuit. Three dimensional systems can pinpoint aspects of an athlete’s performance which require changing, for example, their biomechanics or technique.

Driving equipment design and innovation

Another popular use is sports manufacture: virtual reality is used in the design of sporting clothes and equipment, e.g. running shoe design. Innovation is a key factor in this industry as the bar is raised higher and higher in terms of sporting achievement.

Sportspeople are constantly looking at ways of gaining them that edge which can mean being faster, stronger, better endurance etc. They are constantly pushing boundaries as regards what their bodies can do which drives the sports clothing and equipment industry. This industry has to keep pace with this constant drive for sporting perfection and uses the very latest technology to do so.

Bringing the sporting event closer to the audience

Virtual reality has also been used to improve the audience’s experience of a sporting event. Some systems allow the audience to walkthrough a stadium or other sporting location, which helps them when purchasing a ticket to an event.

And then there are virtual reality games with a sports theme which allow the player to become part of the competition. One example is an interactive football game which projects this match onto a real world surface.

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