EN GUARDE VR: Developing Next-Gen Sensor Tracking for VR and AR through Historical Fencing

EN GUARDE VR (Exploring our interactive heritage through sword-fighting education in Virtual Reality) is a new project funded by Xjenza Malta and coordinated by the Institute of Digital Games launching in October 2026. The project combines cutting-edge tech, game design, and historical heritage with the Institute of Digital Games, Draw and Code Labs, and the Malta Historical Fencing Association collaborating to develop and test the next generation of Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) applications. 

Innovation in Virtual Reality

Despite massive leaps in Virtual Reality (VR) that led to better, cheaper, lighter headsets, precise body and hand tracking without specialized equipment remains a major hurdle for the industry. EN GUARDE VR aims to improve sensors and systems for hand and body tracking as well as use this data to directly feed into the user's pose and actions, translating users’ movements into fluid game actions.

Sword Fighting Challenge in VR 

Historical sword fighting offers an ideal test-case for the technology targets: it relies on accurate hand positioning and posture but is also a fast-paced competition between two contestants. Simultaneously tracking body and hand movements of two interacting players is under-researched, and forms a research objective for EN GUARDE VR with broader applications in contact sports, technology-enhanced learning, and immersive arts. An example of a real-life application of AR in sports is the Perfect Play app, developed by Draw and Code and Chelsea FC to help players and fans to train like a pro from home.

While providing a rigorous test case for the developed technology, using historical fencing as a test-case for the technology also allows for the preservation and study of intangible heritage. The techniques encoded in the game and detected by the sensors are derived from classic texts, including several from the National Library in Valletta such as Di Grassi’s Ragione di adoprar sicuramente l’Arme, si da offesa come da difesa and Agrippa’s Trattato di Scienza D’Arme.

To find out more subscribe to the EN GUARDE VR Newsletter and receive invitations to the playtesting sessions and dissemination events throughout the project.

About the Consortium

Institute of Digital Games

The Institute of Digital Games is one of the leading research institutes in Game AI, Game Design and Game studies. It specialized in postgraduate education and offers the Master of Science in Digital Games as well as research-focused doctoral degrees. Information about their research, education, and events is available on their website.

Draw and Code Labs

Draw & Code is an award-winning immersive design studio specialising in augmented reality, virtual reality, and interactive installations. By blending art and technology, they create deeply engaging experiential spaces for global brands, venues, and artists. The prolific studio has completed over 200 projects for clients include National Geographic, Toyota, Google, Sony, NASA, Warner Bros, Mercedes-Benz and Liverpool FC. The innovators at Draw & Code have also created their own products, including the patented FanPort mixed reality system.

Malta Historical Fencing Association

The first Historical Fencing (also known as Historical European Martial Arts, HEMA) school in Malta opened in 2005. MFHA are a non-profit organisation whose main focus is the teaching and practice of the martial arts led by Maestro D’Armi Andrei Xuereb. Research is central to the techniques the study as they are interpreted from historical sources; training manuals, treatises on fencing, and other documents which were written down by fencing masters throughout history.