The design and development of a multi-person virtual reality rowing platform
The ‘Rowing Reimagined’ project revolves around the use and development of a multi-person virtual reality platform for rowing. Using Virtual Reality (VR) and mechanically coupled ergometers (RP3’s), the Rowing Reimagined platform can simulate the dynamics of multi-person on-water rowing, while providing users with rich (e.g., augmented) visual feedback. The project builds on the recently developed single-person virtual rowing platform ‘VR4VRT’ (van Delden et al., 2020) and advances on the state-of-the-art, by moving from single-person rowing to multi-person rowing. The digital-physical nature of the system puts it right at the center of both Human Movement Sciences (HMS) and Human Computer Interaction (HCI). Its development and use offer unique opportunities for research at the crossroads of these respective fields. From a HMS perspective, by using the demonstrator and the project outcomes, much can be learned about motor learning; augmented feedback; interpersonal coordination; physiology and dynamical systems. From a HCI perspective, much can be learned about technology-mediated augmented feedback; social interaction and behavior steering. With the Rowing Reimagined platform we explore promising areas of scientific inquiry, specifically at the crossroads of HMS and HCI.
Contact person:
Dees Postma
d.b.w.postma@utwente.nl