Final Post

Being an avid swimmer my entire life, creating a new invention that could make their lives easier was very important to me. I feel like swimming is a sport that is often overlooked, and I think that Swim Vision goggles could attract more people to the sport. My idea is to invent a pair of goggles that can track a swimmer’s heart rate, number of calories burned, number of laps swum, can alert swimmers when they are approaching a wall, allow swimmers to view their race from a bird’s eye view as they are swimming, and allow them to share their results with other swimmers within their race. There would be two different modes, “Practice Mode” and “Compeition Mode.” This is very complex, so there needs to be a lot of different technologies integrated into this creation in order to make the vision a reality.

            Initially, I only had the idea for the goggles to be able to track progress and attributes such as calories burned and laps swum. However, after learning about the different topics in lecture, such as networks, databases and hardware, I was inspired to expand my idea. Learning about networks and cloud computing gave me the idea to allow swimmers to share their results with other people they are racing, databases gave me the idea for a way to organize the vast amounts of information, and the hardware gave me the idea to implement videos so that swimmers could watch their race while they are swimming and see where there competitors are.

            In order to make this dream a reality, numerous things would need to happen. It would be very difficult for all of these systems to be stored in a tiny pair of goggles, so there would have to be a lot of nanotechnology involved, which can end up getting expensive. Another big obstacle that would have to be overcome is the ability to make all of these technologies waterproof. This could be particularly difficult when it comes to the video technologies (the ALU and video card). This could be very expensive, too. The video camera situation would be a challenge, too; it could be hard to have the video be displayed “in real time” in the goggles, but I think this problem could be solved by implementing similar technologies that are used to make electronic video glasses possible.

            Some of the more simpler things that could be done to make this dream a reality would be to use bytes and bytes to allow the text to be displayed on a screen in the goggles, create a website that the goggles could be connected to so that a swimmer’s results could be displayed on them and they can “network” with their competitors, and create a database that stores all of the information in the goggles. The goggles would run on batteries and they would need to be charged after every use.

            I admit that this is extremely far-fetched, but this class has taught me that endless possibilities technology grants our society. Who knew that a pair of goggles could have so much potential? Before this class, I never knew how many different technologies went into certain products. This class has allowed me to grow so much; it has expanded my imagination and opened my eyes to all of the different technologies that are used in everyday life, which are two of the most important skills I will need to take with me when I venture into the real world.

           

Lecture Post-Database

MY IDEA:

Swim Vision allows swimmers to literally watch their own race from an aerial view so that they can monitor the progress and speed of every single swimmer in their race. There is a tiny monitor in the goggle lenses that display the race being recorded by a camera positioned somewhere above the pool. The video being played in the lenses will be transparent so that the swimmers can still see where he/she is going. If the screen is too distracting, however, swimmers have the option to turn off the video or they will receive alerts that flashing across the screen with messages such as “approaching wall” or “flip turn in 5 yards.” Swim Vision will have two different modes, “Competition Mode” and “Practice Mode.”          

LECTURE:

            Databases would benefit Swim Vision technology because they could be used to store all of the information that the goggles track. A swimmer who swims multiple times a week would complete a large number of laps/yards, burn a lot of calories, and have several different heart rate readings. With all of this information, there needs to be an resource that can store as well as organize all of this vast information and make sense of all of the numbers, and I think that a database is exactly the technology that these goggles need.

            Within the database, there would be several tables that represent different attributes. The attributes would consist of the goggles capabilities such as number of laps swum, number of calories burned, heart rate, and speed, and they would be arranged by day, week or month depending on the user’s preference. There would also be a table that calculates the averages of this date (average number of calories burned, average heart rate, etc).

            Although it can sometimes be difficult to relate the class material to our products, I actually envision databases to be a realistic implementation into Swim Vision goggles. I think that it is a necessary technology that my goggles would otherwise not be able to function without. All of the information needs to be organized somehow and I think that databases are the best way to do so. The database would also allow for quick access, which is another necessary feature for this product. People need to be able to review their results and ensure that they are making progress, and the organized database containing different tables and attributes would allow users to do this with ease.

Lecture Post--Networking

MY IDEA:

Swim Vision allows swimmers to literally watch their own race from an aerial view so that they can monitor the progress and speed of every single swimmer in their race. There is a tiny monitor in the goggle lenses that display the race being recorded by a camera positioned somewhere above the pool. The video being played in the lenses will be transparent so that the swimmers can still see where he/she is going. If the screen is too distracting, however, swimmers have the option to turn off the video or they will receive alerts that flashing across the screen with messages such as “approaching wall” or “flip turn in 5 yards.” Swim Vision will have two different modes, “Competition Mode” and “Practice Mode.”          

LECTURE:

            My entrepreneurial idea would benefit from the use of networking in two main ways. As mentioned in my previous post, I think that although it might not be plausible, I think it would be interesting if Swim Vision goggles were able to connect to “the cloud” and allow the different goggles to communicate with each other and share information such as times (“splits”: the time it takes a swimmer to complete each lap within a race), calories burned or laps swum and compare them to other swimmers. This is where networking would come in to play because it would allow for the sharing of resources and information. There are numerous different types of networking, too, but I think that Swim Vision goggles would most benefit from the use of telecommunication as well as social networking.

            In order for the different goggles to “network” with each other, there would need to be a website that consumers can log on to so that they can register their pair of goggles and compare their progress with that of other swimmers. Each pair of goggles would have their own registration code. Swimmers would register their pair of goggles and then type in the code of other goggles to see their results and compare them to their own. This telecommunications network would allow the different goggles to be interconnected and act as a medium for which swimmers can share their results and progress.

             Social networking could benefit Swim Vision goggles because the current social media landscape allows for so many opportunities for publicity, especially new products. Social Media will increase exposure reach more people, improve branding and reduce marketing expenses. All of these benefits working together will ultimately increase sales. It would begin on the micro level beginning with an individual and eventually snowball into the person building social relationships with people who have similar interests and views about Swim Vision. The social networking aspect of Swim Vision could then be analyzed and asses global and local patterns of use and locate sources of influence. 

Blogger Review: Wired

My URL: http://swimvisions.blogspot.com/

Blogger’s URL: http://www.wired.com/about/blogs

My Content:

            The blog that I chose to review is the magazine Wired. I was particularly attracted to this blog because I am a magazine major and I am always looking for ways to relate my major to classes outside of my major such as this. I really like seeing the different industries intertwine. Wired blog has numerous authors, all of which specialize in different areas of technology such as gadgets, games, design, innovations, photographs, and science.

            This is exactly what I find so appealing about Wired’s blog. Technology is such a broad subject that it would not be fair for just one person to offer their opinion or cover just one aspect of it. I think it is very wise to have different authors writing about certain topics because every writer has a different voice and is knowledgeable about different topics and this would be most beneficial to readers. One section of the blog that I find particularly interesting is the one titled “Beyond the Beyond” and it is what I will be focusing on in my critique in the following paragraph. This section is written by science fiction author Bruce Sterling and he mainly summarizes, analyzes and evaluates up and coming technologies, inventions or developments in thinking and innovation.

The fact that Sterling is an experienced science fiction author adds to the credibility of his blog, aside from the fact that it is also published on Wired magazine’s blog, a world-renowned science and technology publication. I really life Sterling’s blogging style because his posts have a distinct tone and voice—he often adds in his personality and gives the information some flare, which is especially important when writing about science and technology because that can get confusing, boring and flat in some cases. On the other hand, however, I am not tech-savvy whatsoever and I find his posts hard to understand. His terminology is very scientific and is designed for the real tech nerds out there.  I would be better off reading a different blog on Wired’s website that is tailored to novices like myself. Overall, I would give this blog an excellent rating because it is very informative while also fun to read, which is exactly what a blog should be. I would definitely recommend it to a friend, but probably a friend who knows more about technology than myself.

Lecture Post 3: Bits & Bytes and Cloud Computing

MY IDEA: Swim Vision allows swimmers to literally watch their own race from an aerial view so that they can monitor the progress and speed of every single swimmer in their race. There is a tiny monitor in the goggle lenses that display the race being recorded by a camera positioned somewhere above the pool. The video being played in the lenses will be transparent so that the swimmers can still see where he/she is going. If the screen is too distracting, however, swimmers have the option to turn off the video or they will receive alerts that flashing across the screen with messages such as “approaching wall” or “flip turn in 5 yards.” Swim Vision will have two different modes, “Competition Mode” and “Practice Mode.”

LECTURE

            Swim Vision is capable of utilizing two topics that we have recent discussed in lecture. These goggles will require the usage of “bits and bytes” as well as cloud computing. The bits and bytes would primarily be used in the “Practice Mode” when the goggles display stats such as laps completed, heart rate, speed, time, calories burned, etc. and cloud computing can be used to share the information stored within the goggles. Without this class, I probably would have never thought that a simple pair of goggles would have so much potential to be such a technologically savvy device.

            The bits and bytes would be used to both store information as well as display the text on the display screen within the goggles. They would use the ASCII character set (American Standard Code for Information Interchange), which is the most commonly used to display words of the English alphabet on computers and other communication devices. Certain numbers correspond with certain letters (there are 127 of them). Without bits and bytes, the text displayed in the goggles would not be able to appear. These binary codes would also serve to store the information so that the swimmers can access them later and evaluate their progress.

            Although this may sound like a stretch, I think it would be interesting for Swim Vision to be able to take advantage of cloud computing. The goggles could utilize “the cloud” to allow the different goggles to communicate with each other and share information such as times (“splits”: the time it takes a swimmer to complete each lap within a race) and calories burned to compare them to other swimmers. This sharing of information would have to be done in the cloud. The information could then be accessed from a real computer, not in the goggles. This does not necessarily have to be a real feature on the goggles since it is so farfetched, but I hope that this serves to demonstrate my knowledge on how these new technologies we are learning about could apply to my entrepreneurial ideas. 

Lecture Post 2: Hardware

MY IDEA: Swim Vision allows swimmers to literally watch their own race from an aerial view so that they can monitor the progress and speed of every single swimmer in their race. There is a tiny monitor in the goggle lenses that display the race being recorded by a camera positioned somewhere above the pool. The video being played in the lenses will be transparent so that the swimmers can still see where he/she is going. If the screen is too distracting, however, swimmers have the option to turn off the video or they will receive alerts that flashing across the screen with messages such as “approaching wall” or “flip turn in 5 yards.” Swim Vision will have two different modes, “Competition Mode” and “Practice Mode.”

LECTURE:

            My complex idea would not be made possible if it were not for the implementation of some hardware devices. The two main pieces of hardware that we have learned about that would most benefit my invention would be a video card and an arithmetic logic unit (ALU). The video card would allow for the videos of the race to play within the goggle lenses while the goggles are in Competition Mode and the arithmetic logic unit would serve to perform the calculations to compute the number of laps swum, heart rate and number of calories burned while the goggles are in Practice Mode.

            Although the video card is capable of serving many functions, ranging from accelerating the rendering of three-dimensional scenes to two-dimensional graphics, I think it would best benefit Swim Vision goggles if used to send graphical information to a video display device such as a monitor or projector or in this case, the goggle lenses. Because the goggles are small in size, the video card would have to be, too. A card that is used for a “small form factor” Personal Computer would have to be used for these goggles. The video card would also have to be in a thin water-proof casing, as would the rest of the electronic pieces, so that it does not get damaged or harm the swimmer.

            An arithmetic logic unit (ALU) would significantly have to be used in the manufacturing of Swim Vision goggles so that it could fulfill the functions of the Practice Mode. These include calculating the number of calories burned, the swimmer’s heart rate and the sum and/or average number of laps swum. Arithmetic logic units are also capable of maintaining timers, which is especially important in the swim world, so the ALU could also allow the goggles to calculate the average time it takes for a swimmer to complete a lap or laps. 

Competitive Analysis

URL: http://swimvisions.blogspot.com/

50 Word Summary: Swim Vision allows swimmers to literally watch their own race from an aerial view so that they can monitor the progress and speed of every single swimmer in their race. There is a tiny monitor in the goggle lenses that display the race being recorded by a camera positioned somewhere above the pool. The video being played in the lenses will be transparent so that the swimmers can still see where he/she is going. If the screen is too distracting, however, swimmers have the option to turn off the video or they will receive alerts that flashing across the screen with messages such as “approaching wall” or “flip turn in 5 yards.” Swim Vision will have two different modes, “Competition Mode” and “Practice Mode.” 

Competitor 1 URL: http://wordlesstech.com/2011/09/20/my-pace-swimming-goggle/

Competitor 1 Overview: My product, Smart Vision, is similar to “The Inview” goggles in that they both have the capability to track the lengths swam and utilize similar technology and design features. They both rely on a compass that orients itself when a swimmer first enters the pool and then spots when a swimmer changes direction and logs a lap. Both of these compasses are positioned on the rear strap of the goggles. These two products differ, however, in that the Smart Vision goggles also have the power to calculate how many calories have been burned, a swimmers heart rate, and actually see the race they are swimming from an aerial view in the goggles lenses.

Competitor 2 URL: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4626823.stm

Competitor 2 Overview: I have found that there are many more similarities between the Smart Vision goggles and these “My Pace” goggles. Both goggles, for example, can track the number of laps one swims as well as pace. They are also similar in that they both have technology to beam timings and certain stats in the peripheral view of the swimmer. They both also have an LCD panel of an electronic watch attached on the inside of the right part of the goggles and gives the swimmer his record while a person swims. These two products differ, however, in that the Smart Vision goggles also have the power to calculate how many calories have been burned, a swimmers heart rate, and actually see the race they are swimming from an aerial view in the goggles lenses.

Exploring “my competitor’s” products allowed me to continue ways to improve my product. I did not take ideas from them, but rather, analyzed their product and brainstormed ways that it could be improved and then applied it to my own product. It did give me some ideas, however, when it came to how these companies utilized technologies because that is my weak point. I enjoy learning about new technologies and then researching them and learning about how to apply them to my product.