Our Challenger is an Army veteran who is blind stemming from multiple brain injuries in the army. He’s active and enjoys swimming but currently does not have a good system for swimming laps in the pool. Although there are many options for blind swimmers, such as a “tapper” (someone who  taps them when they get out of their lane), relying on lane boundaries, or verbal cues from others, not many options are available for those who want to swim independently without the use of verbal or tactile cues. 

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The Challenger is interested in an option that will allow him to swim independently without bouncing around in a lane or require verbal cues from someone else. His idea is a digital swim line that would have a sender and receiver at each end of the lane. A swim cap with some kind of fin that stays above the water could receive the signal and send audio signals to keep him in the lane. He’s also open to other suggestions and designs that would accomplish the same goals

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The VMI Student Team - pictured in photo: (Back from L - R): Dominick Lalena, Jon Smith, Preston Lalicker, Sabin Moiceanu; (Front from L - R): Conor McCarthy, Aidan Rice