One of the main aims of the Revea project, winner of the 'Sport de très haute performance' call for projects, is to use virtual reality to optimize the anticipation skills of 4x100m relay athletes, by designing a relay simulator.
One of the main objectives of the Revea project, winner of the "Sport de très haute performance" call for projects, is precisely to use virtual reality to optimize the anticipation skills of 4x100m relay athletes, through the design of a relay simulator.
The simulator's design is the fruit of a co-construction process involving coaches, athletes and researchers. The initial specifications for the simulator were drawn up by the coaches, then an iterative process was implemented so that the developments made on the simulator were validated along the way by the coaches and athletes.
During a training session, the athlete wears a wireless virtual reality headset; he or she is immersed in a digital replica of the Stade de France and is required to initiate his or her run over a few strides, in the presence of digital twins of the partner and his or her opponents, as he or she would do in a stadium, while benefiting from precise feedback on the quality of his or her performance, thanks to three sensors placed on the feet and lower back.
After each trial, or at the end of a training session, the athlete and coach receive a report showing the successive performances achieved, as well as the chronology of remarkable events (e.g., the moment of wave initiation). The simulator enables precise control of session content (e.g., avatar kinematics, distance from the mark, presence of feedback, lane and/or hinge) , so that training can be individualized.
Since 2023, the relay simulator has been offered to athletes (elite and youth) at French team gatherings, in order to present the technology and its potential, but also to evolve it by integrating new functionalities. The work carried out at the same time ensured that the simulator was accepted by coaches and athletes, that it was valid and likely to give rise to transferable improvements in the field.
Athletes and coaches have embraced the REVEA approach, and the main methodological obstacles to using the simulator have been overcome. The simulator can now be deployed with elite athletes as part of a performance optimization program (preparation of the French national teams for the 2028 Olympic Games), but it could also be disseminated to less expert athletes as part of a training program.
What's more, even though the simulator is currently based on Virtual Reality technologies, a transfer to Mixed Reality technologies could be envisaged in the long term to enhance the effects of training sessions.