SmartTap - Elzelinde SmartTap.pdf · object or body passes one half of the sensor, a positive...

Pictorial SmartTap 2016-2017, Eindhoven, The Netherlands

© Eindhoven University of Technology

Vita BroekenTechnische Universiteit EindhovenDen Dolech 2 5612AZEindhoven, The [email protected]

Elzelinde van DoleweerdTechnische Universiteit EindhovenDen Dolech 2 5612AZ Eindhoven, The [email protected] Cas van GrunsvenTechnische Universiteit EindhovenDen Dolech 2 5612AZ Eindhoven, The [email protected]

Almar van der StappenTechnische Universiteit EindhovenDen Dolech 2 5612AZ Eindhoven, The [email protected]

Bas de VreedeTechnische Universiteit EindhovenDen Dolech 2 5612AZ Eindhoven, The [email protected]

AbstractFor this project, we look at the perspective of visually impaired swimmers when it comes to training. Individuality during training is something that has been absent since the dawn of Paralympic swimming, with the main problem being the need of an alert when the swimmer is approaching the edge of the pool. Paralympic swimmers train abroad for a large part of the year, so any solution would have to be easy to move and set-up. To fix this, we needed something with the ability to communicate with the swimmer, that worked and connected automatically. Our solution, after rigorous research, is a modular infrared module that detects and sends a radiofrequency signal to the swimmer, who hears a bone conducted tone to notify him/her that the edge of the pool is approaching.

Authors KeywordsDesign, Physical rehabilitation, visual impaired swimming, bone conduction

ACM Classification KeywordsHardware, Communication hardware, interfaces and storage, sensors and actuators

SmartTap


IntroductionDespite living in a country that is known to have a great living environment for its inhabitants, it is a easy to forget that not everyone is equally fortunate. With a population of almost seventeen million and a number of handicapped people that is close to two million, we’re at around a ten percent occurrence of disability. Out of these people one in five are suffering from visual complications and this will be our target group for the project.

For this project we were given the opportunity to look at the problem of being able to sport individually, from the perspective of the visually impaired swimmers. This is a group of athletes that are confronted with limited visual strength or complete blindness. To compromise for their differing conditions, darkened swimming goggles are used in competitive events. In the current state of the sport, swimmers are not only relying on themselves but also heavily on their team for a good result. As the swimmers cannot see what is to come, they need some type of cue to realize that they are in fact approaching the end of the lane, meaning they will either have to stop or turn. The way that this cue is carried out, usually involves a stick with an object attached and a third party. This extra team member stands on the side of the pool, to warn the swimmer when they are a stroke away from their finish point or halfway mark. This is where the stick is used, to lightly tap the swimmer on top of his or her head, giving them a physical warning.

The problem with this system is that it is highly inefficient and forces the athlete to rely on someone else. The timing of the tap has a big influence on the final time that the swimmer sets and they are not able to practice without an extra staff member present. Our project aims to solve this problem at its core.


Pressure CookerFor the pressure cooker we thought about different ways of giving a signal to the visually impaired swimmers. We also discussed how and where we could connect a device on the swimmer. Furthermore we tried to swim blinded to get a better understanding for our target group.

IdeationAfter the pressure cooker we formed a new group. We made a project planning and after gathering ideas, we researched different options to see which options were viable possibilities.

Research sound frequency:This research was focussed on increasing sound frequency compared to one tone with a certain frequency. We found out that one tone is clearer, and that more people turn at the right moment.

Research sound underwater:Here we researched if people can hear sound under the water. We found out that sound originated from under water can be heard anywhere in swimming pool. This makes it difficult to distinguish the distance and direction of the sound .


After some time of looking at what the most sensitive places on the body of the swimmer are, to use as a place that can be signaled through vibration, someone pointed towards bone conduction. What this means, is that vibrations on the outside of your body, closely pushed against your bones, will actually resonate with your bones causing you to hear the vibrations on the inside of them. This makes for a sound that is experienced as ‘in your head’. Bone conduction has been around for a while as a way to communicate with those underwater and is seen in a number of products for underwater use, but hasn’t gone unnoticed on the surface either. Many system exists with the same function as your

every-day headset, but using bone conduction instead of airborne sound waves.The bone conducting vibrations are delivered to the swimmer through a piezoelectric actuator. Piezoelectricity relies on the effect of some materials delivering a charge when pressured or vibrated. Interestingly, the system works both ways: these elements can start to dilate and thus vibrate when they are delivered a charge. The advantage of the piezoelectric actuator is that is very thin and can deliver reasonably strong vibrations without taking up too much space. All that is needed is the right amount of electricity sent to the actuator, making for a specific frequency of vibration.


For the midterm, our group brought a number of things to the presentations: a concept, a method and a prototype. The prototype consisted of the 433 RF module helping us by showcasing the functionality of the radio frequency waves for the final product. At this point we were not yet aware of the Mylaps technology and still had to consider a mapping system for the swimmers. There was mention of the communication with Libra and the process that was followed to get to the state of the project.

Afterwards, there were some questions on the technical aspects of the product as well as the fact that without the current mapping system, there was no way to exclude a coach. There was a confrontation with the way that was chosen to approach the project. Instead of being efficient, the choice ended up being a more educational route in which we wanted to consider everything ourselves. This, looking back, does not fit as well with the project having a serious client, because the client expects the fastest and

best solutions. There should be less time spent exploring personal solutions and more for looking at what has already been done. Especially in a field that is rather developed, like sports, there is already a lot to look at.

We were reminded that designing a product does not always have to happen from scratch. Sometimes, all that is needed to do is combining things that have not been put together before. The process does not have to be as complicated as it was made. Designing seems to often bring with it, this need to be original. Consider your daily life, more often than not inventions make you think, “how did I not think of that?”. Usually a solution is easy to find when a problem is really well investigated and described. Being saved the trouble of looking for a problem to solve and a target group, the design process skips ahead quite a bit. However, we set out to learn what it was like to work with a client. Therefore our effort was not wasted, as we took with us this valuable information.


When looking at mapping a body in a pool, we have thought about several solutions. When going to the InnoSportLab, we saw the ‘MyLaps’ system, which uses electromagnetic fields and a wearable magnet to map where the swimmer is. Data is collected and saved through a server.

We also talked to Liesette Bruinsma, a very talented athlete that shined during her performances on the Rio Paralympic games of 2016. She told us the most important factors of the product; it should be mobile, easy to use and focussed on assisting her with the training. Which can be anywhere around the world.

This is why we decided to not continue with the MyLaps system, because the server makes it immobile and difficult to install.

With the new solution we talked to Liesette Bruinsma again and she helped us to identify the most pleasant frequency of sound to be notified with of the end of the lane closing in.


For our first major iteration for locating the swimmer in the pool (i.e. distance to the end and start of lane) we used two IR sensors, each placed on each side of the swimming lane. These sensors work with infrared, which means that they detect heat. There are multiple variables that effect the sensors input and output. This makes the sensors rather accurate. The sensor consists of two halves. When a warm object or body passes one half of the sensor, a positive differential change between the two halves occurs. When the warm object or body leaves the sensor, the opposite occurs: a negative differential change. These change in pulses gives a high signal, from which we can conclude that something has passed the sensor. The sensor has a lens dome on top of it, which redirects any ray of (warm)

light from up to 120° angle with te sensor.

For the communication with the swimmer we used two modules: the transmitter (infrared sensor which detects movement and 433RF-board which sends a signal to the swimmer) and the receiver (the module on the swimmers’ head with a 433RF-board which receives the signal and lets the piezo buzz). We chose to use 433RF instead of Bluetooth or WiFi because 433RF is a signal that will be picked up whenever the swimmer comes close to the surface of the water after diving. When using Bluetooth or WiFi, the modules should pair again when the connection has been lost.


During the final Demoday we presented the SmartTap to the client, teachers, parents and friends. We made a casing for the IR sensor, which could be connected to the sides of a pool (or boxes during the Demoday) with poles and vacuum grippers.

We explained the idea and context with the help of a pitch and our video, which can be found in the appendices. People could test the buzzing by putting the buzzer on their head and using their hand underneath the IR sensor. This provided the experience the swimmers could have under water, which got us a lot of positive feedback.


Possibilities for development

Different parts of the product should be developed before the product could be used by the swimmers.

The hanging system:The hanging system is made of wooden sticks, to further develop the product, the design could be made out of a waterproof material, for example plastic.

The cases:The bone-conduction case should be totally waterproof. This could be made for example out of rubber. Rubber is a soft waterproof material, which fits well under the swimming cap. The motion-sensor case should have two boards on both sides. This way the sensor will be restricted in direction and will be more precise.

The electronics:It would be easy for the visually impaired swimmers to make the charging of the bone-conduction device automatic and wireless.

Business model

The idea for this project was inspired by a problem. Visually impaired swimmers encountered a problem when practicing the swimming sport. They went to Libra to ask if they could design a solution for them. Libra passed this question as a design opportunity for designers at the TU/E. The designers came up with the SmartTap. To develop this product for the market, Libra asked the designers to work together with a design company. They will develop the product and when the product is ready for the swimmers to use, Libra will sell it to InnoSportNL. InnoSportNL is a branch of NOC*NSF focused on innovation. They can ask a subsidy from the government because the product will help swimmers to practice sport at an international level. When they get subsidised, they can give the product to the swimmer, so the swimmers will have a solution for their encountered problem.


their work and to work together on tasks afterwards.

Communicating with the client was a little bit of a difficulty for us. The client tended to not communicate at some times, or send a lot of emails at other times, which made us miss some important emails. So we learned from this in the first quartile and we decided to give this task to more group members. This worked out better, because now we did not miss any emails anymore. Also the client became more active towards the project and we did not have to wait that long for answers. We learned that two-way interest is important for a smooth communication.

We also met twice with Liesette Bruinsma in Amersfoort. She was very enthusiastic about the project and gave us a lot of useful insights and advice for specifications for the product. Also the client was very pleased with the concept and the final prototype and they want to develop it further. So we achieved the team goal that we wanted to make a product that can actually assist those swimmer to be able to train independently.

We did a lot of research about different ways to send information under the water. We also researched already existing products on the internet and did a lot of research by testing methods ourself. We tested to swim blinded, to try to hear different sounds under the water and to try sounds with increasing frequency. With Liesette we tested which frequency worked best. And when the final prototype was finished we tried it as well in the swimmingpool. We evaluated the tests afterwards and this made that we came to new ideas and insights. The testing was a nice way of research which was actually very useful.

During the project we have developed skills around technology in several ways. We learned how to use radio

Group reflection

Within the squad social and physical rehabilitation we decided to go for a project with the client Libra, the E-TAW (Electronic Turning Around and Warning system). This project’s assignment was to create an electronic tap for visually impaired swimmers when they are approaching the end of the lane. This way they can swim more independently. We took this challenge with a group of five people and before we started we talked about our personal goals and decided upon team goals.

Our team goals included; clear appointments and communication within the group and with the client and giving visually impaired swimmers the ability to swim like everyone else. For the group communication we made agendas before the meetings and we split up several tasks and the next meeting we showed each other what we did. However, not always all the tasks were done. Our meeting skills can be improved if we pay more attention to each other

frequency, infra red sensors and a piezo buzzer. The connection between the 433RF transmitter and receiver is used and tested in the process. We decided to let two people start on the technology and then talk it through all together, this way we all learned how it works. In the project we had to deal with different stakeholders. Some were interested in the money, others in the product. Libra asked us a lot to sign contract and what to do with the product rights. We did not know very well how to handle this, but we learned from our coaches that we just had to focus on the product, and that the rights are of the TU/E. So we continued with designing and we made a business plan (in the form of a scheme). We still hope to get credits from Libra when they are going to sell the product.

We all developed our professional identity by discovering our interests within a project. This can be the technology, the client contact, the business side, presenting and user testing. We all had a specific role within the team and we all developed a different skill. We are proud that our final prototype really works and that our client want to develop it. We hope that soon Liesette is able to use it.


AcknowledgementsWe would like to thank Ton de Lange and Jan de Groot on behalf of Libra for their insights and supervision during the project, Liesette Bruinsma for her professional insight, Jeanet Mulder on behalf of InnoSportNL and NOC*NSF, Roald van der Vliet for his contribution in knowledge, Roy van den Heuvel for his insight into mapping swimmers, references to the national swimming centre and advice throughout the process, Carlo and Joey on behalf of InnoSportLab Pieter van den Hoogenband Swimming Pool for their help, the Student Sports Centre in Eindhoven for being able to use their swimming pool and Roos van Berkel, Emilia Barakova, Matthias Rauterberg and all other people who provided helpful comments on previous versions of this document.

References1. Corso, J. F. (1963). Bone‐Conduction Thresholds for

Sonic and Ultrasonic Frequencies. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 35(11), 1738-1743. doi:10.1121/1.1918804

2. Lady Ada. (n.d.). PIR Motion Sensor. Retrieved November 3, 2016, from https://learn.adafruit.com/pir-passive-infrared-proximity-motion-sensor/how-pirs-work

3. KNZB. (2016, June 1). Retrieved September 29, 2016, from https://www.knzb.nl/knzb/downloads/reglementen/

4. Van Rense, B. (n.d.). MYLAPS. Retrieved November 1, 2016, from http://www.mylaps.com/en

Similar Product5. THE FIRST SWIMMING CAP WITH TECHNOLOGY THAT

HELPS BLIND SWIMMERS*. (n.d.). Retrieved January 11, 2017, from http://www.blindcap.com/en/

AppendicesAppendices can be found on www.casvangrunsven.nl/smarttap

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