Virtual reality-based sports training system and its application to baseball

This article introduces a system we are developing that provides a first-person-view experience to users. It is aimed at preparing athletes to engage in sports competitions by enabling them to experience game situations from their own point of view before the game. The use of video has rapidly become popular in the sports field in various ways such as for scouting the opposing team before the game. Such videos are usually captured from a position different from that of players while they are playing the game. Thus, they cannot simulate the game very well. Our system provides a virtual reality-based firstperson-view experience by using information captured or measured from locations that will not disturb the game. We describe in this article how our system worked in a trial with a professional baseball team.