A ball moves and disappears behind a gray barrier. Click on the screen where you predict it will re-emerge, timed to when it actually gets there. 8 rounds.
Predicting where a temporarily hidden moving object will reappear - what researchers call motion extrapolation - is critical in sports (catching a thrown ball), driving (anticipating a pedestrian who's about to step out from behind a parked car), and any task requiring you to mentally continue an object's path through an occlusion. Your visual system doesn't just stop processing when an object disappears; it keeps a running internal model of where that object "should" be based on its speed and direction just before it vanished.
This free predictive tracking test isolates that skill by requiring both spatial accuracy (clicking the right location) and temporal accuracy (clicking at the right moment) - most people are better at one than the other, and the scoring combines both into a single measure of how well you extrapolate hidden motion.
Beyond sports, motion extrapolation ability has been studied in driving-safety research, since a driver who can accurately predict a hidden vehicle or pedestrian's trajectory reacts more safely to sudden hazards. Understanding your own prediction accuracy on this test can highlight whether this specific perceptual skill is a personal strength or an area worth extra caution.
Don't glance away before the ball hides - the more of its trajectory you see, the more accurate your extrapolation.
Mentally counting a beat while the ball is hidden helps sync your click timing to its expected arrival.
Catching, batting, and racquet sports all train this exact motion-prediction skill in a physical context.
Athletes in ball sports wanting to benchmark their tracking instincts, driving instructors discussing hazard anticipation, and anyone curious about their motion-prediction ability will find this free test a useful, quick assessment tool.
Reaction time measures how fast you respond to something you can see. This test measures how well you predict something you can't currently see, based on its prior motion.
Real-world motion prediction needs both - clicking the right spot too early or too late is just as much of a miss as clicking the wrong location entirely.
Yes, completely free with 8 rounds per attempt and instant score comparison against other users.
It measures your ability to anticipate where a moving object will be after it's briefly hidden from view, testing motion extrapolation rather than just visual tracking.
Athletes in fast-ball sports like tennis or cricket rely heavily on predictive tracking to intercept objects moving faster than their visual system can consciously process in real time.
Smooth pursuit tracks a continuously visible moving target, while predictive tracking requires estimating motion during a period when the target is occluded or invisible.
Yes, athletes in ball sports typically show superior predictive tracking developed through years of sport-specific practice, suggesting the skill responds well to training.