Can Kinect aid motor learning in sportsmen? A study for three standing techniques in judo

Abstract

Our objective was to examine how exercises with the second generation of the Microsoft Kinect sensor may aid in the process of motor learning in young judo practitioners. We addressed improvements in spatio-temporal accuracy during execution of three standing techniques in judo, in a simple paradigm designed to study short-term practice effects. Two groups of judokas, 12 athletes each—one aided with Kinect and our dedicated software vs a group of controls—were asked to mimic previously recorded master-level performances of the three techniques, established as benchmarks by a two times world champion in judo. In five training sessions, athletes of the aided group used a virtual-reality setup in which they trained with a virtual representation of the master displayed on a large screen with a simultaneous real-time visualisation of their own movements in the form of an avatar based on body joint localisation, as determined by Kinect, which also measured their performance. The control group used Kinect in the 1st and 5th session, which was necessary for the measurements that constituted the basis for subsequent statistical comparisons, whereas the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th session in this group was guided by a coach, without the use of the Kinect setup. In addition, athletes of the two groups had unrestricted access to a video recording of the master performing the three throws. We found statistically significant improvements (p < 0.05) in the accuracy of executing the three techniques between the 1st and the 5th training session for the aided group but not for the control group. We conclude that incorporating Kinect based exercises into a judo training programme may be a useful means to supporting motor learning, therefore enhancing training efficiency, and thus improving performance.

The method of automated filling of the database with descriptions of human physical exercises

“…The article [13] investigates the effect of using the MS Kinect camera to assist young judokas' motor training by simulating pre-recorded performances of three master-level techniques.…”

T-RAC: Study protocol of a randomised clinical trial for assessing the acceptability and preliminary efficacy of adding an exergame-augmented dynamic imagery intervention to the behavioural activation treatment of depression

“…A promising way to support the embodiment of simulations of action in depressed individuals is by using remote kinematics in the form of exergaming (XboxKinect™ games). Previous research showed that using exergaming results in the augmentation of motor (kinesthetic) imagery [26][27][28], increased motor rehabilitation in stroke patients [29], motor learning [30] and it is efficient as a stand-alone intervention for the reduction of depressive symptomatology [31][32][33][34]. Furthermore, exergaming has an increased acceptability and feasibility in various populations [29].…”

T-RAC: Study Protocol for Assessing the Acceptability and Preliminary Efficacy of Adding an Exergame-Augmented Dynamic Imagery Intervention to the Behavioural Activation Treatment of Depression

“…Previous research showed that using exergaming results in the augmentation of motor (kinesthetic) imagery (Wriessnegger et al, 2014(Wriessnegger et al, , 2018(Wriessnegger et al, , 2020, increased motor rehabilitation in stroke patients (Almasi et al, 2022), motor learning (Sielużycki et al, 2019) and it is efficient as a stand-alone intervention for the reduction of depressive symptomatology (Abd-Alrazaq et al, 2022;Huang et al, 2022;Rica et al, 2020;Yunus et al, 2020).…”