Swimming for the blind has few differences with regard to conventional swimming. One of the factors that makes it different is the use of a touch signal to warn swimmers when to turn and when they are reaching the finish, to prevent the blind from striking the wall of the

The company allocates part of its resources to researching new technologies that improve people’s lives. After meeting with the Spanish Paralympic Committee, 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´s 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.

We met with the Paralympic Committee to detail the needs and problems to resolve with our Blind Cap design.Then we introduced the cap at elite swimmer training sessions in blind categories S11, S12 and S13.In parallel, the app (compatible with androids and Gear S2)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.As it is not a commercial product, it is only used by the aforesaid coaches and swimmers at the facilities of the committee itself. The idea is for it to be introduced at professional competitions in the future, to replace tapping, and that it will be mass produced.With the Blind Cap,we highlight the Samsung philosophy that “we make technology for people”, positively increasing the brand image, as it shows that its technology is centred on real problems that it solves (no matter how niche they may be).Inspired by frog’s fingers, we have designed an inside flexible and organic technology that is extremely ergonomic. The electronic parts are divided into two elements to attain a hydrodynamic product that is hermetically sealed by using a hard 3D-printed part.The parts are joined by wires embedded into a silicone piece that connects and covers them to prevent the silicone from absorbing the vibration.The technology is distributed in two parts:the first contains the low energy Bluetooth module, the vibrator, antenna and an FFC connector to join the wires. The second, another FFC connector and the battery.The silicone piece is translucent and the printed parts are an eye-catching colour to highlight its high technology interior.The device is connected to the app by Bluetooth and when the coach presses the button on the app,the signal is sent to the cap by way of a vibration.