It has become a commodity to track your health and performance through the use of wearables. This includes counting the steps you have walked in a day, evaluating how good you have slept last night, tracking progress in workout or training for a marathon. Gathering this data and evaluating it can be very useful when confronted with health problems or by just being a motivational factor for exercise.
However, when considering swimming this has yet been rather difficult. There is the possibility to track data with a smart watch, however wearing a watch while swimming can hinder your training. Whether being a professional or swimming as a leisure activity one is faced with the struggle of counting laps instead of trying to improve your technique and evaluating your performance.
A start-up called “Form” from Vancouver has been working on AI swim goggles with which real-time data from the swimmer in the pool or open water can be not only collected but directly brought into the line of sight when swimming. The holographic technology by Sony is promised to display graphics such as stroke rate, distance, and split time, while at the same time providing enough sight to see where you are swimming. These goggles could evolve as a game changer for training, in particular in terms of improving your performance with real-time data while swimming. This would lead to the possibility of improving one’s swim technique immediately instead of waiting for the recommendations of a trainer at the end of a lap. Also, when training towards a competition or triathlon, a device which evaluates real-time data would definitely help in terms of preparation for the competition. Further, swim data can be evaluated within an app by swimmer and trainer after the training.
Up until now these glasses are priced quite high ($200) and will therefore only attract customers who are willing to test the new technology and are professionally training for a competition. However, when this technology is proven and further extended, it might lead to additional features in terms of an entertainment perspective when training in the pool. These might include the possibility to watch movies or competing in games in terms of bringing the virtual world into the real world.
BBC News. (2019). Can AR goggles make swimming more fun?. [online] Available at: https://www.bbc.com/news/av/technology-49852311/can-ar-goggles-make-swimming-more-fun [Accessed 6 Oct. 2019].
FORM. (2019). FORM | Swim Goggles with a Smart Display. [online] Available at: https://www.formswim.com [Accessed 6 Oct. 2019].
Gartenberg, C. (2019). Form Swim Goggles review: aquatic AR. [online] The Verge. Available at: https://www.theverge.com/2019/8/7/20755379/form-swim-goggles-review-ar-augmented-reality-price-specs-features [Accessed 6 Oct. 2019].
Hodgkins, K. (2019). Form’s AR Swim Goggles Bring Swimming to the Next Level | Digital Trends. [online] Digital Trends. Available at: https://www.digitaltrends.com/health-fitness/form-augmented-reality-swim-goggles/ [Accessed 6 Oct. 2019].
Price, C. (2019). Want a way to track swimming? These AR goggles provide your stats in real time. [online] TechRadar. Available at: https://www.techradar.com/in/news/want-a-way-to-track-swimming-these-ar-goggles-provide-your-stats-in-real-time [Accessed 6 Oct. 2019].
this thing is overpriced and I do not think many amateur swimmers are going to purchase this. In addition, professional swimmers (competing at Olympic Games) already possess some kind of advanced technology to track their performance.
Dear Annemarie,
Thanks for sharing your thoughts about such an interesting topic. Recently, I have read about a similar example that could also be applicable to the Swimming Goggles. You have mentioned that the googles can be extended to include a gamification factor. The company Ride On has incorporated this for Ski Goggles. These Goggles are the world’s first augmented reality ski goggles. Next to recording your performance and speed, they can record your experience on camera with the option to share it live with your friends. Second, you can navigate your music, communicate with your friends and navigate on a map – all hands free. And third, you can collect diamonds and points that are virtually placed on the slopes and compare your score with your friends. Easily said, Goggles are Goggles so this might be another great opportunity for the swimming industry to make the sport more competitive, fun and ultimately improve performance.
Here some additional information about this company: https://www.rideonvision.com/new/
Cheers, Frauke