Smart swimming goggles promise more perspective when training
19.3.2022
Translation: Megan Cornish
The flood of data in sport doesn’t stop at swimming. So you don’t have to check your smartwatch at every turn, there are now swimming goggles with an integrated display.
I don’t know much about swimming goggles. Just that they should be watertight, not squeeze your eyeballs out of your head, and provide a reasonably good field of vision. There are serviecable ones for a few quid and the expensive ones aren’t necessarily the best. The model that bears Michael Phelps’ name was once scathingly rated as «inadequate» in a test by consumer magazine Kassensturz (in German). It’s a bargain compared with this one.
This model is neither gilded nor endorsed by a famous face. But it is «smart». «Form» superimposes training data over your field of vision at a price that would still make me think long and hard even if my swimming pool was Scrooge McDuck’s money bin.
Source: Form
While we’ve long been used to being able to control all possible parameters with one look at a smartwatch, mobile phone or bike computer for sports on land, the situation has been more complicated in water – until now. There are, of course, countless sports watches which display distance, pace, the number of strokes and much more. The data’s there, but not in your line of sight during training. That's enough for 99 per cent of users.
Live data for a performance-driven target audience
For the one per cent, who want to swim at the cutting edge of development, there are smart goggles. And as is the case with every innovation, the customer base will expand over time. If it proves itself. It’s clear that, in a few years’ time, it will still attract a performance-oriented target audience for whom no training effort is too much, no price tag too high – as long as they're progressing.
I can understand using data goggles. You can’t usually do a lot when you’re swimming except count the tiles and lanes or occasionally peer at a pace clock at the water’s edge. The idea of changing that and placing live data in your field of vision makes sense. And it has been continuously pursued.
Not the first smart goggles
The brain behind «Form» is founder and CEO Dan Eisenhardt, a man who has long been involved with smart sports eyewear. In 2008, he co-founded Recon Instruments, a company which also brought glasses with a heads-up display to the market. They’re designed for use on land, though.
The first model was launched back in 2010 as the first sports glasses of their kind. For context, this was before Google Glass – the data glasses which were the first to also garner attention beyond the tech scene because their wearers drew ridicule and earned themselves the scornful nickname «glassholes». In 2015, Recon was taken over by Intel and it was closed down in 2017.
However, Dan Eisenhardt – himself a competitive swimmer for 14 years – had unfinished business. Water is clearly his thing, and the sale of Recon Instruments left him with enough capital to launch «Form». The smart swimming goggles have been around since 2019, but the know-how behind them is much older.
Swimming in the data stream
In practice, training with «Form» is set up so that you can save up to five workouts on the goggles and start in the water at the touch of a button. The data is superimposed over your left or right eye, and you don’t need any other devices to use the goggles in the pool. Distance is measured using the pool length you’ve configured. Once set up, the «swim screen», «turn screen» and «rest screen» will display the most relevant parameters for your swim, turn and rest phases. Your heart rate is recorded via the compatible Verity Sense or Polar OH1/OH1+ sensors.
Source: Form
For free water swimming, «Form» relies on the GPS of a compatible sports watch to be able to measure more than time and strokes. The product behind the product is the app, which offers a whole world of workouts, analysis capabilities and a community for between 15 and 20 dollars per month. A long-term subscription is rewarded with a lower price for the goggles. As with all smart devices, the trend is to tie customers into the world of training.
Since its market launch, work has focused on expanding the range of software functions and offering not only data, but corresponding workouts. Now, the training platform is a kind of «Peloton for the pool», according to Techradar. That includes the community. A few days ago, there was also an announcement of a partnership with the Professional Triathletes Organisation (PTO).
Competition stimulates business
This isn’t the only model on the market. Like «Form», «Finis» also offers a display solution for ambitious swimmers in partnership with tech firm Ciye (it stands for «Coach In Your Eye»). Of course, there’s a corresponding app with a community which you’re expected to visit as many times as your training pool. So, the race for market share is on. It’s an eye for an eye in the tit for tat battle. Time will tell whether watertight smart goggles are visionary or a damp squib.
Cover image: Form
Michael Restin
Senior Editor
Michael.Restin@digitecgalaxus.chSimple writer and dad of two who likes to be on the move, wading through everyday family life. Juggling several balls, I'll occasionally drop one. It could be a ball, or a remark. Or both.
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