Mira

A waterproof swimming aid aimed to guide blind swimmers during their practice. MIRA is a sensor that is able to indicate to swimmers when the pool wall is near, preventing them from crashing or getting hurt. This indicator helps swimmers know when to turn around at the right moment.

Blind swimmers face challenges inside the pool that other athletes don’t necessarily have to worry about. One of them is reaching the pool wall safely. During competitions this is prevented by using “tappers”; people that stand on the edge of the pool holding onto long poles that had foam on one end to tap the swimmer’s head when they reach the wall. During practice, swimmers usually don’t have tappers with them but their coach is then responsible for signalling or they have someone swim beside them.

There are many disadvantages within this situation. For one, human error exists and that means that the possibility of a swimmer getting hurt exist in the case that the tapper is not able to complete their task correctly. On the other hand, this means that blind swimmers are unable to be independent since they can’t swim or compete by themselves.

The product contains an ultrasonic sensor which is planting within the silicon body (bracelet). This sensor acts as a transmitter and receiver, which can detect and calculate the distance between the swimmer and a determined object, in this case the pool’s wall. The sensor measures distance up to 5 meters, which is great because swimmer’s usually turn around 1 meter away from the wall. In addition, the user will receive all feedback through vibration.

In addition to this product, a wireless charger was also designed to go with it.