Swim.me: An IoT wearable swimmer assistance system with severe vision problems

Ifigenia Vasilaki (22 years old), Ourania Vlachou (22 years old), Evangelos Georgakilas (23 years old), Panagiota Dedousi (23 years old), Anastasis Karayoutsos (22 years old), Dimitrios Laipros (22 years old)

BRANCH: Technology – Swim.me

Has anyone ever tried to swim with their eyes closed, using only their hearing and touch? One of the most important problems faced by swimmers with severe vision problems, whether amateur or professional, is the ability to perceive the relevant location and their orientation in the path of the pool. This gap was identified by Rania Vlachou, who, being a champion for years and having been a member of the national swimming team for national and international distinctions, had realized that a sport as accessible as swimming can be used for swimming. for people with disabilities.

This problem was the inspiration behind Swim.me, which includes an IoT wearable swimmer assistance system with severe vision problems for their orientation in the pool. With this, the Swim.me team expects to motivate not only professionals, but also young children with partial or total blindness, to engage in sports and benefit from what it can offer them without worrying about possible challenges.

In order to receive the idea of ​​flesh and blood, however, a group of six students came to Psachi: Ifigenia Vasilaki, Rania Vlachou, Evangelos Georgakilas, Panagiota Dedousi, Anastasis Karaoutsos and Dimitris Laipros.

The Swim.me system consists of a swimming cap in combination with glasses intended for use in training conditions of athletes. Through built-in waterproof sensors, the athlete will be alerted to corresponding vibrations both for his orientation and relative position in the pool route and for the exact moment of the turn. At the same time, appropriate sensors collect data during training and, through an IoT application provided in combination with the device, swimmers have direct access to their statistics, maximizing their performance.

The Swim.me team represented Greece in the European entrepreneurship competition of Junior Achievement in Lithuania, winning the 1st place and the title “Start-Up of the Year 2021”. Among the distinctions of the group is the award from Elevate Greece at the 85th Thessaloniki International Fair.

Methodology: Out of the more than 100 nominations collected by “Forbes” – either through applications of the interested parties themselves or through proposals from institutions and competent bodies – the editorial team made a first selection and came up with 50. The jury, which consisted of Mr. Spyros Theodoropoulos (CEO of Chipita), Nikos Karamouzis (former President of Eurobank and the Hellenic Banking Association, President of Grant Thornton), Michalis Bletsas (Director of Informatics at MIT Media Lab), Theocharos Filipos Capital.gr, president of Attica Publications), evaluated the 50 candidacies with scores from 1 (lowest) to 4 (highest), based on which the final ranking was formed. The order of publication is defined according to the rating of the members (from the highest to the lowest) and then alphabetically. Conditions for participation in the list “Forbes 30 Under 30 Greece 2022” were met by those born from 1/1/1992 onwards.

* Cleesto: The platform that offers digital solutions in the tourism industry

* Project Parenting is the first educational platform that supports parents

* Staiatis Voglis: The startupper who shares the same passion for sustainable fishing and information services

* Stefanos Douskos: He did not give up and was justified

* Marialina Tsinidi: The 17-year-old student whose experiments travel in space

* CollegeLink: The platform that connects young people with the job market

* Nikolas Varveris and OVIVIEW open the door of employers to young people

* Authentic fishing experiences in the Mediterranean via Fisea

* Thanasis Gavelas: The gold paralympian who twice broke the world record in Tokyo

* Video games and virtual reality made in Greece by eNVy softworks and V. Karavasilis

* Carge makes an appointment for charging anywhere in Europe

* Eleni Keliri has set a goal of water consolidation

* ShelfNow: The marketplace that knows traders directly from food producers

* Rebecca Paleologos with Inverzio brings revolution in the field of human interaction

* M. Tentoglou: From amateur parkour to Gold Olympian

* Wet lab: A group of 15 students in the fight against coronavirus with an edible vaccine

* ComeTogether: A revolutionary idea for buying and reselling tickets

* P. Naoum (ChromaSwap): Makes the world a better place by giving people the colors they deserve

* Alexandros Petkos: The 18-year-old who brings artificial intelligence to the garbage collection

* The Internet of Things ally of the construction industry through Embneusys