Learning interventions in olympic skeleton through the use of physical simulation

Abstract

The extreme sport of Skeleton faces driver-training constraints. This PhD focuses on the learning effects from virtual environment (VE) training. It was hypothesised that learning and skill-acquisition within the sport of Skeleton could be accelerated through the use of physical simulation and VE training. This has been investigated by linking various perceptual learning paradigms to the design of VE training.

A review of previous simulator development and learning intervention research found an apparent lack of task specificity in VE design. This led to initial perceptual learning theories that focused on task specific stimuli cueing. Two on-ice track-testing sessions were conducted. They primarily provided the acquisition of on-track sled dynamic measurements and athlete subjective data, which helped formulate hypotheses around which cueing stimuli was important within a VE training scenario.

Following these tests an experiment was conducted to investigate if proprioceptor stimuli had an effect on athlete sliding performance and learning rates. The results from the 5-subject experiment concluded that proprioceptor stimuli during virtual training showed improvement of learning rates and task performance. The findings promoted the development of new VE feature theories where learning was maximised by customising task specific cueing systems.

A virtual environment was developed to investigate these theories and a motion cueing experiment was conducted, aimed at identifying if whole-body roll motion led to an increased learning rate. Subject learning rate and performance was evaluated from steer timing error measurements. Subjective feedback was provided which supported the measured results. Three verification methods for were used to investigate the effectiveness of skill transfer from simulated to real-world environment. Subjective and objective measures assessed the effects each VE subsystem had on subjects' ability to perform the task. The system's applicability and validity as a perceptual priming tool was demonstrated and shown; from pre and post VE intervention of athlete improvement comparisons, real-vs-simulated sled dynamics, and subject matter expert opinion. Compelling evidence was presented to suggest that positive transfer of training occurred.

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Identifiers

ORCID for Stephen Turnock: orcid.org/0000-0001-6288-0400

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