Developing an HMD-Based System for Assessing Football Players’ Bird’s-Eye View Transformation Capabilities

In football, if one wants to move the game forward tactically, one must quickly understand how and where the players are moving. It is hypothesised that the ability to convert first-person information into a bird’s-eye view is crucial for making quick and appropriate judgements. In particular, top players have shown great “depth perception”. Although a connection between the conversion of a first-person perspective to a bird’s-eye viewpoint and depth perception is plausible, the connection between these two skills has not yet been clarified. More studies are required to determine whether the transfer of a first-person perspective to a bird’s-eye perspective plays a role in the superior depth vision demonstrated by great players. Understanding this link might have implications for training and the improvement of athletes’ depth perceptions. The primary objective of this study is to design a system capable of systematically assessing first-person and bird’s-eye perspective conversion skills using a Head-mounted display (HMD) and to investigate the association between this ability and depth vision. We performed an experiment in which 12 experienced and 12 novice football players viewed randomly positioned player objects in a virtual football environment from a first-person viewpoint and then rebuilt the player objects position from the bird’s-eye perspective. The depth perception of an individual was also evaluated. Compared with novice players, experienced players were able to rebuild the placement of player objects with greater precision. There was no significant difference in depth perception between the two groups. In trials comprising 2-8 items, there were no significant differences between experienced and novice individuals in terms of the time necessary to locate objects precisely, regardless of expertise. However, in trials involving 10-16 items, the experienced group had a markedly decreased completion time. However, there was no link between the results and depth perception. These results imply that the capacity to convert first-person perspective to bird’s-eye view can be tested. However, the ability to convert a first-person perspective to a bird’s-eye view and depth perception may represent separate skills. This suggests that those who are adept at transforming a first-person viewpoint into a bird’s-eye view may not necessarily have great depth perception, and vice versa. Further studies are required to fully understand the links among these cognitive skills. Other factors, such as age, sex, and experience, may also influence cognitive skills. Future research should explore these variables to gain a more comprehensive understanding of the relationship between viewpoint transformation and depth perception.