Exploring the potential of vertical jump training in virtual reality

Abstract

In many athletic activities, jumping is a fundamental skill requiring strength, stability, and coordination. It is also a good indicator for general fitness and can predict the individual risk of injury. Therefore, most people profit from training to improve their jumping performance. However, amateur athletes might not have access to professional analysis equipment or jump trainers, and unsupervised training, such as online videos, cannot provide individual feedback. Therefore, we explore the potential of using virtual reality as a widely available platform for a personalized jump training application. Based on the current state of research, we discuss and identify possible use cases, such as instant replays of recorded jumps, an individual motion analysis, automatic exercise recommendations, and gamified workouts. We also demonstrate the feasibility of jumping interaction in virtual scenarios with an early prototype and explain future research directions.