Investigation of a Virtual Environment for Rugby Skills Training

We have designed and developed a virtual environment to train rugby ball passing skills. Seeking to validate the system´s ability to correctly aid training, an initial experiment was performed to examine the effect of stereoscopic technology and the physical screen´s setup on the user´s ability to perceive virtual distances correctly. Four participants with at least 10 years´ experience of playing local-level rugby took part in the experiment to compare the combinations of different user positions compared to the physical screen, the use of stereoscopic presentation and the use of a floor screen to extend the field of view of the virtual scene. Conversely to what was expected, the participants did not respond well to perceived distance and these variables had little effect on the distance thrown.