Learn Street Skateboarding through 3D Simulations of Angle Rotation

Abstract

Learning physical activities such as sports and games is expensive and time-consuming. A common advice is "repetition makes perfection," which implies that wrong actions must soon be noticed and avoided. A knowledgeable tutor is often required to provide good feedback for that purpose. However, this facility is available only for those who can afford tutorial fees and time arrangements must be made well in advance. Books and videos are often treated as a more affordable media for learning. However, books and videos show a two dimension picture, while the audience might like to see how a particular move is performed from another angle. Quite often, books and videos do not show the picture that its audience would like to visualize. For example, one skateboarding trick is actually best viewed from the back in order to clearly show how it is done; however, most two dimension pictures show the trick from the front where the result of the trick is nicely shown. A computer software application allows a user to see an object through a three dimensional experience by rotating the object. We adopt this technique to introduce a 3D medium that allows its user to view how skateboarding tricks are done. Specifically, we implement a 3D simulation software application that teaches the fundamental skills involved in street skateboarding. The software provides a high degree of interactivity by allowing users to view a single animated object from different camera angles. A user can interact with the software through a few easy-to-understand buttons in order to view the picture from other angles. User test results show that using the software is a more effective means to learn skateboarding compared to watching a video demonstration. A further benefit of this 3D simulation approach is that it facilitates faster video development time by allowing the use of reusable modules for similar movement patterns. Hence the 3D simulation application could be used to learn other sports and games, since most of them show a repeated hand-stroke, leg movement, or jumping posture. The approach discussed in this paper opens a venue to learn sports and games in a more interactive, efficient, and cost-effective way. (Contains 13 tables and 13 figures.)