MOBILE (SAME FOR ALL CATEGORIES)
BACKGROUND
Swimming for the blind has been established as a Paralympic sport for over 50 years. Blind swimmers need an alert to know the exact time to turn, as their disability prevents them from determining this on their own. To do so, over the course of all these years coaches have used a pole with a hard sponge on the end to warn swimmers, which is somewhat denigrating and rudimentary, when bearing in mind that we live in the age of technology.
We want to put an end to this practice. The company technology has simplified many daily problems, so why not help improve the daily lives of elite athletes, such as Paralympic blind swimmers?
Our objective was to apply the brand’s mobile technology and the instruments required to improve these swimmers’ lives, eliminating the signal used until now, to make something more subtle and simpler that exercises the same function.
THE CREATIVE IDEA
The company allocates part of its resources to researching new technologies that help or improve people’s lives. This is how the idea arose for Blind Cap, a swim cap that incorporates vibrating technology to alert blind swimmers.
A vibration system, incorporated inside of the cap, replaces the tapping mechanism used until now with a small vibration that alerts swimmers of the precise time to turn.
Connected to Gear S2 (a smartwatch), or to a smartphone via Bluetooth, coaches send a small vibration to the cap, to alert swimmers, just by pressing the button on the Blind Cap app. A simple mechanism that—joined to company mobile technology—means a lot to swimmers and coaches, as it eliminates tapping the swimmer while maintaining the connection between them, something that is essential in this swimming discipline.
THE STRATEGY
The company creates technology to make people’s lives easier. Blind swimmers deserve to have technological advances contribute to their conditions to be able to perform as elite athletes without any obstacles. Thus, after holding several meetings with the Spanish Paralympic Committee, we realised that we had the mobile technology needed, and we only had to seek the way to apply it to this sport to eliminate the tapping signal used until now.
The importance of the cap being linked to a smartphone or smartwatch app is the freedom and autonomy that it gives the coach, as we replace the pole and chronometer used with a single device. Thus, coaches can focus their full attention on swimmers since these devices are used on a daily basis and are intuitive and user friendly, so that coaches do not require adaptations or explanations to start using it.
THE EXECUTION
Before testing the Blind Cap and finishing its production process, we met with the Paralympic Committee to detail the needs and problems to resolve with our Blind Cap design. Then we implemented the cap at elite swimmer training sessions in categories S11, S12 and S13 (blind swimmer categories), for swimmers who will compete at the next Paralympic Games. In parallel, the app was uploaded to the Play Store and made available to all users, regardless of whether or not its use was oriented to coaches and swimmers using the Blind Cap. The app is compatible with Androids and with Gear S2, a smartwatch.
At this time, as it is not a commercial product, it is only used by the aforesaid coaches and swimmers at the facilities of the committee itself at which the elite athletes train and workout. The idea is for it to be introduced at professional competitions in the future, to replace tapping, and that it will be mass produced.
RESULTS
After showing and trying out the Blind Cap along with the Spanish Paralympic Committee, the committee expressed its interest in establishing the Blind Cap as its main tool at high-performance blind swimmer training sessions, as well as seeking to modify regulations in order to implement Blind Cap at national championships (for the time being).
Moreover, far from being a for-profit action, the brand's value has increased, revealing once again that it is concerned about improving people's lives through its technology.