Our Simulation & Immersive Learning Centre (SUSIM) at Swansea University is helping to shape the next generation of athlete development by exploring how immersive simulation technology could transform athlete preparation, performance and wellbeing.
At the centre of this pioneering research is PhD student Kieran Hayes, whose work is investigating how the SUSIM can be adapted from its established role in healthcare education to support sporting performance.
Traditionally, SUSIM – one of the world’s largest installations of immersive wall technology – has been used to recreate complex healthcare environments, enabling almost 4,000 medical students and professionals to develop technical and non-technical skills in realistic, high-pressure situations before applying them in clinical practice. Through this partnership between NISH and Swansea University, the researchers are now examining how the same technology can be applied within sport.
According to Professor Jo Davies, Head of Simulation at Swansea University, the project represents a natural evolution of the University’s expertise in simulation-based learning.
The Faculty of Medicine, Health and Life Science has built extensive experience in immersive education, team performance and simulation training. By working collaboratively with NISH, those principles are now being extended into sport and wellbeing, creating new opportunities for interdisciplinary research, education and innovation.
While the technology has previously been used to recreate hospital wards, emergency departments and major incident scenarios to prepare healthcare professionals for real-world practice, we are now translating this psychological realism to help athletes prepare for the demands of elite competition.
By exposing athletes to realistic environments before they encounter them in competitions, the research aims to better understand how immersive simulation can enhance preparation, improve performance and build confidence in challenging situations.
The ambition is for SUSIM to become a collaborative platform where experts from healthcare, sport science and technology can work together to develop evidence-based approaches that enhance both performance and wellbeing.
This research begins by identifying where immersive simulation can add genuine value to athlete development, with the first phase of the project focusing on understanding the most effective applications for the simulation suites within sport. To make sure the research addresses real-world needs, the University’s Sport and Exercise Science Department has been working closely with its broad network of partners across elite sport and industry to help prioritise the areas where immersive simulation will have the greatest impact.
Once those opportunities are identified, research begins on evaluating how immersive environments influence athlete behaviour, decision-making and performance in ways that are difficult to achieve through conventional training methods.
One of the technology’s greatest strengths is its ability to recreate sporting environments that would otherwise be inaccessible, such as major competition venues, unfamiliar training locationsand high-pressure match situations.
By combining large interactive displays, 270° visual projection and immersive sound, athletes can be transported into realistic competitive settings while continuing to perform genuine sporting movements and use their normal equipment. Researchers can then manipulate the environment in real time, creating different scenarios that challenge perception, decision-making and performance under changing conditions.
The simulation suites provide a fully immersive environment, incorporating interactive walls, panoramic visual displays, spatial audio and even environmental effects such as scent. Our research is investigating how these features can be combined to create meaningful performance benefits for athletes.
This collaborative work represents an exciting step forward in applying proven simulation technologies beyond healthcare. By bringing together expertise in simulation, sport science and athlete development, the project has the potential to establish new approaches to training that are grounded in research and focused on real-world impact.
As the research progresses, the findings will shape how immersive technology can be integrated into future performance programmes, supporting athletes, coaches and practitioners with innovative tools designed to prepare individuals for the environments in which performance matters most.
If you’re working in sport and have ideas on how we can use this tech, get in touch to find out more about the study: