Technology

The Technology Roots

The IntelliGym™ technology is based on a concept originally developed for Air Force pilots by DARPA (the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency).



The initial research was conducted by Prof. Daniel Gopher of the Technion – a world leader in the field of cognitive training. The results were mind-boggling. A record improvement in flight performance of more than 30%, in two of the leading air forces in the world (see (1) Hart, Battiste. NASA-Ames Research Center. Field test of video game trainer (1992). (2) Gopher, Weil, Bareket. Fidelity revisited: The transfer of skill from a computer game trainer to actual flight (1991)). The team then demilitarized the technology, further improved it, and incorporated Applied Cognitive Engineering (ACE).



ACE's patent-pending technology, called Cognitive Simulation, is proven to increase trainees' performance in their profession or task by 20% – 40% . The IntelliGym™ has been tested extensively. Starting with a study in the Wingate Sports Institute and moving on to train thousands of players in the US – the training program yielded remarkable results – improvement by tens of percents in a variety of basketball standard parameters and statistics. Moreover – the trained teams recorded remarkably higher wins ratio!

A Basketball Cognitive Training Tool

In order to develop a basketball cognitive training tool, the researchers mapped the brain skills that are required for top performance in the game of basketball.

Cognitive Simulator

Mapping the cognitive skill-set of the basketball domain

With this map at hand, ACE researchers designed a system that stimulates the exact same skill set.

Training the cognitive skill-set via Cognitive Simulation

This training tool is designed like a video game, but if you screen the minds of the trainees, you’ll find that the skills (or the “brain muscles”) that are working are exactly those that are required during a basketball game.

Making the Brain Play the Game

Each player installs his own copy on a standard PC. Once the program is launched, the 'game' instructions are presented. The player is asked to operate his 'arsenal' in order to maximize the performance of his 'fleet'. For best results, the players are advised to practice 1-3 training sessions a week of approximately 30 minutes per session. The level of the training gradually increases.
In most cases, by the time the player has completed his 8-10 training sessions, the results are clearly seen on the court.



ACE's Unique Expertise

ACE can analyze any high performance human activity, map the cognitive skills that control the activity, and create a specific training machine to enhance it. ACE has the ability to map the brain "muscles" which control a complex human task, and design unique "fitness" programs for brain work-out.
The first 'brain-gym' applications were originally used to train fighter pilots, yielding 30% improvement in performance. Later, ACE researchers implemented the concept to the game of basketball. Strangely enough, flying a jet was found to be similar to playing hoops. Quick decision making under pressure, shot selection, anticipation, execution, team work and spatial orientation are all skills in common. Recently, ACE has partnered with USA Hockey to develop The Hockey IntelliGym, a cognitive trainer for Ice Hockey players. Interestingly, a deep research, which was held jointly, showed that although ice hockey is very different than basketball, the essential building blocks needed to develop the trainer were found to be very similar.



The development of these proprietary cognitive training systems requires unique knowledge and expertise in the field of cognitive engineering. These brain-training experts are part of an interdisciplinary team that includes also video-game experts, content experts (e.g. sports analysts and coaches), and software professionals.