Thomas Schack *, John Elvis Hagan Jr. ** and Kai Essig ***
(*) Neurocognition and Action Research Group, Center of Excellence, Cognitive Interaction Technology, Bielefeld University, Germany
(**) Department of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, University of Cape Coast, Ghana
(***) Faculty of Communication and Environment, Rhein-Waal University of Applied Sciences, Kamp-Lintfort, Germany
Citation
Schack, T., Hagan Jr., J.E., Essig, K. (2020). Coaching with virtual reality, intelligent glasses and neurofeedback: The potential impact of new technologies. International Journal of Sport Psychology, 51(6), 667-688. doi:10.7352/IJSP.2020.51.667
Abstract
The last decades have seen new sport technologies become increasingly important for recording, analyzing, and optimizing athletic performances. Combined with valid and defined diagnostic methods, these techniques have opened new perspectives and opportunities for an individualized and context-sensitive action support for training, competition, daily living management and communication. New technologies do not only allow athletes to reach better training results in a less amount of time, but also allow coaches to get more insights on training processes with more effectiveness. This contribution provides an overview of recent technological advancements in sport psychology and highlights their key characteristics as well as useful applications. Techniques that enrich the physical environment of athletes, such as virtual, augmented, and mixed realities are described with modern and mobile output devices like intelligent glasses. Additionally, explanations on attentional, auditory, and brain-related technologies such as neurofeedback that can help improve the cognitive processes of athletes, and serve as diagnostic and training tools are provided. The contribution concludes with a discussion on the ethical and practical implications of these new technological approaches for sport psychology from a broader perspective.
Keywords: Artificial Intelligence; Augmented-Virtual Reality; Intelligent Glasses; Neurofeedback; New Technologies; Sport Psychology