Augmented reality (AR) provides additional information to the reality of sportpeople, and might offer supplementary advantages compared to other technologies. The goals of this study were to characterize and understand the benefits of AR in sports education and training. We reviewed Pubmed, Scopus, Web of Science, and SportDiscus databases, and discussed the results according to their role in sport (practitioner, spectator, and customer). Our results showed that different AR approaches might be used for learning and providing feedback. New rules could be introduced for reducing the gap between players with different experience levels. Additional information could also be added to improve the audience experience. We also explored the limitations of current AR systems and their efficacy in training, and provided suggestions for designing training scenarios.

We studied how usability and playability of sport exergames affect future intentions of participation in physical activity or actual sport. We employed questionnaires to measure participants’ enjoyment, usability, game-experience, and future intentions of physical activity and real sport. We compared the outcomes based on players’ gender, previous real-swimming, and exergame experience. Psychological parameters were not different between groups but players without exergame experience enjoyed the game more. Physical activity intentions increased for all participants but not swimming intentions. The limitations of current gaming systems and their effects on players’ gaming experience and intentions are discussed.

Recreational athletes may listen to music or watch videos to prolong their exercise routines. In recent years, use of active videogames has increased. The effects of audiovisual encouragements have not been compared for their potential ergogenic effects on physiological variables during moderate- to high-intensity exercises. Here 60 sedentary healthy male students were divided into four groups-control (CON), audio feedback (A), videogame feedback (V), and a combination of A and V (AV)-based on previous measurement of maximum oxygen uptake using covariate adaptive randomization. Participants completed a bout of running (Balke treadmill test) until exhaustion based on the type of feedback. Exercise responses (time, heart rate, blood sugar level, and creatine kinase level) were compared in all groups before and after participation. Participants in group A ran significantly more than those in the CON group, and those in group AV ran significantly more than those in groups CON and V. In other physiological responses, the differences were not significant among groups. It is proposed that intentional functions from internal (physical feelings) to external perspective (music and video) may have been involved in increasing exercise time but were not strong enough to change levels of other physiological parameters. However, these findings have strong applications for improving fitness exercise programs while using a new generation of videogames.

Background: Falls are the leading causes of (non)fatal injuries in older adults. Recent research has developed interventions that aim to improve balance in older adults using virtual reality (VR).Purpose: We aimed to investigate the validity, reliability, safety, feasibility, and efficacy of head mounted display (HMD) systems for assessing and training balance in older adults.Methods: We searched EBSCOhost, Scopus, Web of Science, and PubMed databases until 1 September 2020 to find studies that used HMD systems for assessing or training balance. The methodological quality was assessed using a modified version of Downs and Black. We also appraised the risk of bias using Risk of Bias Assessment tool for Non-randomized Studies (RoBANS).Results: A total of 19 articles (637 participants) were included for review. Despite heterogenous age ranges and clinical conditions across studies, VR HMD systems were valid to assess balance and could be useful for fall prevention and for improving postural control and gait patterns. These systems also have the capacity to differentiate healthy and balance-impaired individuals. During VR versions of traditional balance tests, older adults generally acquire a cautious behavior and take more time to complete the tasks.Conclusion: VR HMD systems can offer ecologically valid scenarios to assess and train functional balance and can be used alone or in addition to other interventions. New norms and protocols should be defined according to participants' age, health status, and severity of their illness when using VR HMD systems for balance assessment and training. For safe and feasible training, attention must be given to display type, VR elements and scenarios, duration of exposure, and system usability. Due to high risk of bias and overall poor quality of the studies, further research is needed on the effectiveness of HMD VR training in older adults.

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The aim of this experiment was to investigate whether there were differences in decision-making skills between different age groups (Under 16, 18 and 23) of elite academy footballers on a video-based task of real-life football scenarios. It also explored the relationship between individual performance on the task and the performance of the footballers on the pitch, as rated by three independent expert football coaches. This allowed us to examine whether this task is useful in predicting real-world decision-making skills. The results show that there was a significant difference in response times between response time was statistically significantly lower in U23 compared to U18 and U16 and there was no statistically significant difference between the U16 and the U18 groups, but no significant difference between age groups on the accuracy of response. The under 23 age group responded significantly quicker when compared to the under 18 and under 16 age group most quickly, then the U18, and finally, U16 footballers were the slowest on the task. In terms of comparing coaches' opinion about the players' decision-making skills and players performance on the task, there was a positive correlation between accuracy on the task and general decision-making skills rated by the coaches, suggesting that coaches have a good insight on what players can actually do as. However, coaches' ratings of decisionmaking skills and response times on the task did not correlate suggesting that coaches are not aware of the speed of decision-making, and that this is only measurable by a representative task.

Active video games (exergames) may provide short-term increase in energy expenditure. We explored the effects of gender and prior experience on aerobic and anaerobic energy systems contributions, and the activity profiles of 40 participants playing with a swimming exergame. We recorded oxygen consumption and assessed blood lactate after each swimming technique. We also filmed participants’ gameplays, divided them into different phases and tagged them as active or inactive. Anaerobic pathway accounted for 8.9 ± 5.6% of total energy expenditure and although experienced players were less active compared to novice counterparts (η² < 0.15, p < 0.05), physiological measures were not different between performing groups. However, players with real-swimming experience during the first technique had higher heart rate (partial-η² = 0.09, p < 0.05). Our results suggest that short-term increase in physiological measures might happen in the beginning of gameplay because of unfamiliarity with the game mechanics. Despite low levels of activity compared to real sport, both aerobic and anaerobic energy systems should be considered in the evaluation of exergames. Game mechanics (involving the whole body) and strategies to minimize pragmatic play might be used for effective and meaningful game experience.