Virtual reality in sport
Everyone has heard of virtual reality at some point in time, especially in the field of video games. But this technology has been advancing more and more in recent years to the point of being incorporated into professional sports. To understand virtual reality, we must first know what virtual reality is. According to the RAE, virtual reality is defined as the «representation of scenes or images of objects produced by a computer system, which gives the sensation of their actual existence.»
This technology can be applied to elite athletes as well as to sports and video game lovers. In the case of elite athletes, they use virtual reality a lot to improve specific things or to know what they are going to face before experiencing it. This allows players to see specific situations, both individual and collective, and to improve those specific aspects. Sports spectators have also benefited from advances in this field. Thanks to virtual reality, they have been able to get closer to stadiums or fields when they lived many kilometers away to feel their idols more closely.
The world of motorsports, one of the first to use this technology
One of the sports that uses this technology the most is Formula 1. One of the main advantages obtained from these trainings is to be able to refresh the lines and curves of the circuits. With these virtual reality simulators, the aim is that the drivers can memorize the circuit beforehand, so that when they arrive for training, they already have a large part of the work done. But Formula 1 is not the only motor sport in which this technology is being applied. Virtual reality is also being used in MotoGP. The advantages achieved are very similar to those in Formula 1.
But virtual reality can also be used by sports enthusiasts. We can see the application of this technology in static bicycles or treadmills. In these cases, users can be transported to different scenarios such as a park or a forest to have the feeling that they are running or cycling through nature. In addition to being able to change the environment, they can also sign up for fictitious races to get more motivation and exercise with more enthusiasm. There are more and more consumers of this type of machine, so more and more companies are specializing in this technology. It should be noted that as a result of the pandemic more and more people have preferred to exercise from home and thanks to virtual reality, they have been able to feel as if they were still doing sports in a gym or on the street.
The pandemic has accelerated the development of virtual reality
Not only athletes have been helped by new technologies, but spectators can also enjoy these advances. In the wake of the pandemic caused by COVID-19, many leagues and sports have applied virtual reality so that their fans can follow the competition from home despite not being able to access the stadiums. The NBA was one of the pioneers during the confinement, but more and more sports have joined in.
The latest to join the virtual reality for spectators has been Formula 1, which announced earlier this year that during this 2022 would go on sale a virtual reality support called F1 Life. This application will allow fans to experience Formula 1 from behind the scenes. In addition to this, it will be possible to know the drivers’ bibliography, as well as to collect exclusive models of glasses, watches and cars that can be driven.
But this development is not the first in the world of motorsport. The car and motorcycle simulators that can be rented for events or those that we can see in the recreational games of large surfaces are very well known. Although these have nothing to do with the simulators that the drivers have, they can bring the spectators closer to what it feels like to drive one of these cars.
Technology has helped the sport a lot as we have seen, but it also brings fans closer to the sensations their idols have when competing at the highest level. In addition, it helps athletes to train with the real conditions that they will have later in the competition. Undoubtedly, the new technological applications are becoming very good allies of the big sports clubs.
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