Tokyo’s HPSC Esports Lab brings sports science to virtual competition
The research facility connects esports, virtual sports and athlete wellbeing, with World Rowing involved in research on virtual rowing.
A new research platform, the HPSC Esports Lab, has opened in Tokyo under Japan’s High Performance Sport Center. Its focus spans esports, virtual sports and athlete wellbeing, bringing specialists together to examine performance in physical and digital environments.
The lab combines sports science, sports medicine and technology expertise. Researchers will explore the demands of virtual competition, how athletes adapt to it and how their health can be supported. World Rowing is a research partner, with virtual rowing providing one focus for collaboration.
World Rowing president Jean-Christophe Rolland has welcomed the initiative as an opportunity to build on rowing’s history of using technology to widen participation. Research at the lab is intended to help the sport develop with a stronger scientific foundation.
Japan Sport Council president and chief executive Satoshi Ashidate describes the lab as part of the organisation’s exploration of sport’s future through science and innovation. Bringing together expertise in esports, virtual sports and wellbeing is intended to produce knowledge that supports athletes while encouraging healthier, more active communities.
The laboratory creates a platform for cooperation across sporting organisations and research disciplines. Its work could inform future approaches to training, competition and athlete support as traditional sports develop new digital formats.
https://esportsradar.gg/japan-sport-council-launches-investment-in-hpsc-esports-lab/