Training The Eyes Of Ski Athletes

Online, September 12, 2012 (Newswire.com) - Shortly after the London Olympics, preparations for the next Winter Games in Sochi, Russia, are in full swing. An increasing number of sports scientists discovers eye tracking as a promising method to evaluate and improve the performance of athletes.
In August, the French Ski Federation tested SMI's glasses-type eye tracker - combined with the new mobile recording unit for the device - to analyze the vision skills of downhill skiers. During tests on the Les Deux Alpes Glacier in France, they recorded the eye gaze of expert and youth athletes while skiing on a giant slalom course.
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SMI Eye Tracking Glasses are the next generation of mobile eye trackers which are easy to wear, fast to setup and accurate in measuring the eye gaze even in demanding environments and situations found in most sports. The eye tracker is worn like a normal pair of glasses. It is equipped with a camera to capture the field of view as well as the eye movements of the wearer. For data recording with SMI Eye Tracking Glasses, athletes now only need to wear a small mobile recording device. It allows more than two hours recording without battery change. With a special clip-on case, the SMI Recording Unit is easy to carry by safely attaching it to a belt or wearing it on a body strap. An advanced interface allows to collect athlete data such as age, gender or level of experience, view eye videos and assess eye tracking quality.

Nicolas Coulmy, PhD, French Ski Federation: "We were impressed by the stability of the system even in adverse conditions outside on the glacier - with the sun right above and reflections of the snow coming from below. The system was very accurate despite the high-speed movements while skiing and the different viewing distances to the gates. We think that SMI Eye Tracking Glasses - now even more mobile with the small recorder - can be a very beneficial tool in evaluating and improving our athletes' performance."
Arnd Rose, Product Manager, SensoMotoric Instruments (SMI): "Eye tracking has been employed in sports science for some years already but with the unique form factor of SMI Eye Tracking Glasses, the easy setup and the accurate binocular tracking of the system, mobile eye tracking technology will prove to be very effective in many fields of sports and athletics training and research."
Read more at: www.eyetracking-glasses.com.