Rowing together with fellow rowers all over the world is possible in Virtual Reality (VR) and holds great promise for the future of sports and sports training. Researchers from the UT and the VU have together developed the first-ever multi-person VR rowing platform. The VU-UT team showcased the new VR tool for a full house of (inter)national experts from the industry and academia at the Rowing Reimagined symposium at the Amsterdam Institute of Sport Science on 1 June. The attendees also experienced the virtual rowing setup first hand.
The project was supported by internal VU-UT seed funding within the project line ‘Sports and Movement’, part of the Smart Societies Coalition. ‘Sports and Movement’ combines the strong expertise of UT and VU researchers on Human-Media Interaction and Industrial Design and Engineering (UT) and Human Movement Sciences (VU) and is aiming to contribute to better health by improving the quantity and quality of movement. The first scientific publications will follow soon. Smart technologies are used to measure, monitor, and enhance the sporting experience, in terms of engagement, learning and performance. The ‘Sport Data Valley’ is used to securely manage, analyse and share data. Within this project line, the UT and the VU also join forces to educate a new breed of scientist in the collaborative ‘Sports Data Science’ master track. Students learn how to principally combine the potential of technology with the principles of human movement science.
