Analysis of Soccer Referee’s Behavior in the Virtual Space using HMD and Eye Tracking Device

Abstract

In team sports with a high degree of freedom of movement, players and referees on the field need to make immediate decisions on movement actions that maximize team and individual gains. To do this, players and referees are constantly performing the task of quickly recognizing the game situation. Because the human field of vision is limited, they must select and focus their attention on the information they need to pay attention to. This kind of behavior to actively gather information about the surroundings is called visual search behavior. However, it is difficult to specify what information to pay attention to, and it is not easy to measure and collect visual search behavior in actual games. In this research, we developed a system to measure visual search and movement behaviors in a virtual space for efficient data collection and analysis. Using a head-mounted display (HMD) with a built-in eye tracking device, the system enables measurement in a more realistic environment by immersing the user in a match reproduced in a virtual space by a soccer simulator. We conducted an experiment in which testees were immersed in a match in a virtual space from the viewpoint of a referee, and collected behavioral data as a referee. As a result, we confirmed that there were significant differences in behavior depending on the presence or absence of knowledge of soccer and experience as a referee.