What is Human Performance?

For decades, elite athletic organizations have functioned as an incubator for training innovation, trialing, and perfecting new approaches in the gym and on the field. At the same time, research spanning multiple disciplines in academia, medicine, and industry has deepened and expanded our understanding of the human mind and body—how we learn and perfect new skills; how we build strength and sharpen reflexes; how we prevent, process, and recover from trauma and injury. 

Human performance combines the latest understandings from these realms with rich new sources of data and the latest advances in data science, wearable sensors, virtual and augmented reality (VR and AR), cybersecurity, and information technology. 

With these building blocks, properly designed human performance training programs can:

• Track and inform progress using sophisticated wearable sensors: Establish baselines, monitor injuries, and track development of key cognitive and physiological indicators across the training lifecycle.
• Draw actionable insights from comprehensive performance-relevant datasets: Holistically analyze data from myriad relevant sources to inform key training and operational decisions and achieve stronger returns on training investments.
• Use immersive technologies to make training more informative and accessible: Employ realistic, easily repeatable VR and AR training simulations that track progress via measurement of stress response, cognitive load, eye movement, and more. 
• Protect sensitive data with privacy best practices and cutting-edge cybersecurity: Enjoy the benefits of data-driven performance optimization without putting sensitive personal and organizational data at risk.

For a deeper understanding of human performance and its potential applications in disaster response, military operations, emergency medicine, law enforcement, and more, download our guide, Human Performance: A New Training Paradigm.