AI in Basketball

The PhyUM Research Center of UNED and the Valencia Basket 2000 Foundation, through L’Alqueria LAB, have signed a collaboration agreement in which they will apply Artificial Intelligence techniques to data collection for detecting and developing talent, improve sports performance, and support rehabilitation processes. The agreement arises from the growing presence of Artificial Intelligence in all areas of society, including sports.

The Associate Professor at UNED and Director of the PhyUM Research Center, Dr. Olga C. Santos, emphasises the importance of this collaboration in creating a pool of researchers:

Just as sports entities like L’Alqueria LAB promote training from an early age to aid in the development of athletic talent, at PhyUM, we have been involved in the training of researchers applying Artificial Intelligence in the field of psychomotor learning personalization for almost 10 years. In fact, continuing with the sports analogy, we have researchers at PhyUM who started with their Bachelor’s thesis and are now completing their doctoral thesis, playing in the league of research projects

In this regard, the head of L’Alqueria LAB, Borja Ricart, comments:

It is crucial for our organization to establish collaborations of this nature, as it allows us to leverage the experience and trajectory of UNED to enhance the performance of our athletes through optimization and innovation

In fact, L’Alqueria LAB aims to establish Valencia as the leading city in Europe for comprehensive training and knowledge development within the context and practice of this sport. The collaboration with the PhyUM Research Center in the field of Artificial Intelligence reinforces this commitment, addressing research aspects of particular relevance to the city. This collaboration can be beneficial for the student body of UNED Alzira-Valencia, where more than 7,000 people are enrolled. As Dr. Santos highlights:

This opportunity allows us to expand the educational offerings provided by UNED to undergraduate, master’s, and doctoral students. In this case, it provides Valencia’s UNED students with a pathway to develop expertise in areas such as Artificial Intelligence with a sports focus

This offering complements the activities that have been carried out between PhyUM and the Associated Center of UNED Alzira-Valencia to support research and knowledge transfer in the field of active aging.