While top sports training focuses primarily on physical fitness, nutrition, and psychology, recently, extensive research has been done on the role of vision in sports performance.
More than 80% of input in sports is visual, so excellent dynamic vision skills and neuro-visual processing are essential to being a top athlete. A tennis player needs to absorb, process, and analyze as much information as possible about ball flight, net distance, line, and opponent’s position and react to the shot in a split second.
It involves the precise coordination of about 20 different neuro-visual skills, such as vision, depth perception, dynamic visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, eye teaming, peripheral vision, eye-brain-body connection, balance, and visible reaction time.
To take tennis training to the next level, Evolution Optiks Partners with John McEnroe Tennis Academy (JMTA), through its division, OcuRay, to develop neuro fitness training wearable, FalconFrames.
FalconFrames is a vision-based wearable developed from years of innovation in the light field with built-in gaze-tracking, which analyzes eye movements and uses a dynamic linear light field array with retina-tracking guide lights to provide visual cues of where to look in real-time. It is an ultralight wearable designed to be used during training and to complement athletes rather than distract them from the game seamlessly.
The dynamic linear light field creates thousands of data points per second processed by AI trained algorithms that can detect signs of brain, vision, or motor impairments.
FalconFrames can be connected with a smartphone app that allows the user to follow preset training routines with increasingly challenging settings, set goals, track progress, compare performance with others, or train with the guidance of an instructor. It can also integrate with existing health and wellness apps.
“We are delighted to partner with such a renowned and experienced sports academy. This is a major new chapter in training for just about any athlete or sport. We have spoken with trainers and pro athletes in tennis, soccer, and racing, and it was always the same story: The physical condition of an athlete can be trained to perfection, but that is simply not enough. The connection between eyes, brain and body is the missing link, and we are developing FalconFrames precisely for that”, says Raul Mihali, President and CEO of Evolution Optiks. “Working with the coaches at JMTA to adapt FalconFrames to the specific requirements of tennis and develop the training routines best suited for the sport is a privilege. It is truly exciting to provide a technology that can bridge the gap between good and great.”
Bennett Schlansky, the Senior Managing Director of JMTA, says:” The device has enormous potential to enhance the performance of our students. Our goal is always to develop complete players, and to give them an edge, and to this end, the importance of excellent vision skills cannot be stressed enough. We look very much forward to testing and using this piece of high-end technology in our programs.”
