A VR-based experiment investigating how different body movements affect spatial awareness will take place on a soon-to-be announced date, under the project PERiFORM.
The project, addressed to people aged 18-40 years old, is a collaboration between the UoL Research Center, the CYENS Centre of Excellence, and MentisVR Ltd, funded by the Research and Innovation Foundation under the RESTART 2016–2020 programme.
Participation takes about two hours, and each participant will receive a €10 as compensation for their time.
PERiFORM is a research project investigating how athletes perceive and interact with the space immediately surrounding their bodies — known as peripersonal space (PPS). This space plays a key role in planning movements, reacting to stimuli, and performing under pressure.
Through Virtual Reality (VR), PERiFORM explores whether targeted VR training can reshape the PPS and lead to measurable improvements in athletic performance, particularly in boxing and football goalkeeping.
Using validated experimental protocols, the team aims to design and evaluate new VR-based training methods that could enhance reaction times, accuracy, and spatial awareness.
The project begins by exploring how different types of movement in immersive virtual environments can influence how individuals perceive the space around their body. The targeted training and assessment aims to identify the most effective approach for enhancing this spatial perception. Building on these findings, the next phase focuses on applying this knowledge in athletic contexts, using virtual reality to support and potentially improve sports performance. Enhancing the peripersonal space could strengthen sensorimotor integration and attention in athletic contexts, potentially benefiting performance and skill acquisition.
By linking the enhancement of peripersonal space to measurable improvements in athletic performance, PERiFORM aims to introduce new strategies in sports training and contribute insights into motor control and spatial awareness in both performance and rehabilitation contexts.
Learn more and submit interest here
