Résumé : La capacité à accomplir des tâches locomotrices complexes, telles que celles requises dans la vie quotidienne, est souvent altérée chez les individus ayant subi une lésion cérébrale acquise, compromettant ainsi la marche autonome en communauté. Cette présentation se concentrera sur les avancées de recherche récentes en lien avec le contrôle visuomoteur de la locomotion et l’utilisation de la technologie de réalité mixte appliquée à la compréhension, à l’évaluation et à l’entraînement des tâches locomotrices complexes chez les populations ayant subi un accident vasculaire cérébral ou un traumatisme crânien. Plus précisément, des tâches locomotrices telles que les changements de direction et l’évitement des piétons, de même que la marche en contexte de double tâche, seront abordées. Les réussites et les défis liés au développement, à la validation et à l’application des outils de réalité mixte en contexte clinique seront également abordés, et les perspectives futures seront explorées.

Abstract: New technologies are making their way into many aspects of daily life, including sports, fitness, and rehabilitation, where exergames are becoming increasingly popular. This innovative training approach combines physical activity with digital gaming technologies. Full-body movements are captured by sensors and used to control a game. Depending on the hardware and software, various physical (e.g., balance), mental (e.g., self-efficacy), and cognitive functions (e.g., attention) can be trained, allowing individuals to reach personalized training goals. Additionally, the engaging nature of exergames provides a welcome change of pace, which can enhance motivation to train. However, an interdisciplinary and user-centered approach to design and development, as well as systematic research and feedback into exergame design, are crucial to ensure the effectiveness and attractiveness of game-based training. This presentation will illustrate this iterative process with various examples from research and development projects on exergames for a wide range of target groups and applications.

Abstract: This talk will demonstrate how Virtual Reality (VR) can be used as a tool to understand and improve performance in sport. The first part will show how rudimentary VR technology was used in the early 2000s to carefully control what the brain sees (perception), but also very accurately measure how the brain responds (action). The versatility of VR means it can be used to study human behaviour in many different sport and health applications. Examples from behavioural neuroscience will showcase how VR can help us understand decision-making in elite sport.

The second part of the talk will highlight how the recent evolution of both VR hardware and software has opened exciting new possibilities to take research out of the lab so it can make a difference on the pitch. Examples will demonstrate how VR applications, developed using research foundations, can enhance performance through the power of gameplay. This will include VR apps that can train perceptuo-motor skills in the home and monitor changes in players’ neural fitness that can occur because of injuries (e.g. concussions).

The talk will conclude by sharing some thoughts on the future of VR technology and the Metaverse and highlight opportunities for researchers to take advantage of this technology.