Interaction Technology for Collective and Psychomotor Training in Sports

The paper introduces a novel pervasive computing based training concept aimed at elite sports. The concept goes beyond interactive sports equipments that are either individual or multiuser with a common display requiring participant’s focus. These types of equipments are unable to support the kinesthetic empathic elements inherently present within open sports. To put focus on collective training, we draw inspiration from Kinesthetic Empathy Interaction in designing the collective training equipment, TacTowers. The TacTowers prototype is aimed at supporting athletes, particularly team handball players, in honing their psychomotor skills, in particular anticipation and decision making skills, in the one-on-one confrontation. TacTowers is a sensor-actuator based system, with LED lights and no screen-based display. It is placed between the players in order to reintroduce the kinesthetic empathic element in the interaction, specific to the sport. We present and discuss results of tests with two elite handball teams. We see prospects for applying the concept for entertaining movement-stimulating games at schools or leisure sports environments.