Real-time Feedback from a Bird's-eye View: Improving Spatial Perception in Cutoff Man Training Using a Drone

Most sports-assisting technologies have been developed to improve performances only in individual sports such as skiing, batting, and swimming. In team sports, it is important to perceive one's position relative to others. Few studies have focused on team sports, which not only require the motor ability of individual players, but also their perceptual abilities. This pilot study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of a visual feedback system to improve players' spatial perception relative to others. The visual feedback system was composed of a flying drone that transmitted an image to the participant's smart glasses. The participant was able to see his/her own relative position in real time using the glasses with and without the system. Nine participants tried to position themselves on an imaginary line between two experimenters 30 m away from each other, which simulated the situation of a baseball cutoff man. The results showed that the error in distance between the participants' positions and the line decreased significantly when using the system compared to when not using it. Furthermore, there was also a reduction in positioning error in subsequent trials after participants performed the task using the system, compared to before they used the system. In conclusion, the real-time feedback system from a bird's-eye view has the potential to improve accuracy in spatial perception.