Exploring Innovative Strategies to Enhance Eye-Hand Coordination and Cognitive Functions Through Drone Catching Exercise.

Eye-hand coordination (EHC) is a critical cognitive-motor function that enables individuals to interact effectively with their environment through visually guided hand movements. It plays an essential role in daily activities such as reaching, grasping, and object manipulation. Previous studies have shown that targeted physical activities and sports can enhance EHC performance. However, aging is commonly associated with declines in EHC, executive function, and postural control, which can negatively affect independence in daily living. These age-related changes are also closely linked to cognitive decline and may contribute to the development of mild cognitive impairment (MCI), dementia, and Alzheimer's disease, thereby increasing the burden on families and healthcare systems.

To mitigate these effects, various cognitive-motor and technology-assisted training approaches have been proposed to improve EHC and cognitive function in older adults. While many existing EHC training systems are computerized and implemented using virtual reality (VR) or mixed reality (MR), accumulating evidence suggests that virtual environments may not fully replicate real-world eye-hand interactions. Limitations in depth perception, haptic feedback, and realism may alter visual fixation strategies, movement execution, and overall task performance, potentially reducing training effectiveness compared with real-world interactions.

Given these limitations, it remains unclear whether real-world EHC training provides greater benefits to executive functions and motor performance than virtual training. Therefore, this study aims to compare the acute effects of EHC exercise performed in a real-world environment and a mixed reality passthrough environment among older adults. The proposed EHC training task involves catching a real three-dimensional (3D) object guided by a physical mini drone, inspired by natural human behaviors such as swatting at flying insects, and its virtual counterpart involving a virtual 3D object and drone. The primary objective is to examine differences in executive functions, task performance, and postural stability between real and virtual EHC conditions. By identifying which training modality better supports cognitive-motor performance, this study seeks to inform the design of effective and engaging interventions for healthy aging and early prevention of cognitive decline.