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Swimming App Project Idea
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Foster_1998
Oct 24, 18 17:04
Post #1 of 13 (1196 views)
Hi there,
I’m an engineering student with a swimming background, and I’m looking for some feedback on a project that I am working on. I am working on building an app that will help swimmers’ coach themselves.
The app would feature:
1. Long term training plans
a. A variety of training plans for different swimming goals
2. A large database of swim sets adjusted for your ability
a. Sets would be adjusted based on your distance and sprint paces
3. Swim set progress tracking
a. Would have a checklist to help you track where you are in a set
b. Certain types of sets would allow you to input your pace times to be used as benchmarks in future sets.
4. Automated lap timing and counting using a photo recognition based algorithm
a. The front facing camera on your phone would need to be directed at your lane
b. The phone would recognize you as you make your turn, and increment the lap counter
c. The phone would also record your lap time for each lap
5. Video recording with frame by frame playback
a. Analyse technical aspects of your stroke
b. Potentially record video underwater for further analysis (phone dependant)
c. Monitor crossover, arm recovery, hip sway, head position etc…
This app would be different from other swim apps because it would not require you to wear a smart watch to track your progress in real time. Instead, your phone would track you from the side of the pool.

The reason I am developing this app is that I find wearing a watch while swimming to be annoying. Also, I often struggle with counting laps on longer sets.

I would really love to hear your thoughts about this idea.
Would this be something that you would use?
Would you be willing to pay a subscription to an app like this?
What would be the most valuable feature in this app for you?
Are there any features that you would like to see that I have not listed?
Do you have any other suggestions?

Thanks,
Foster
Quote Reply
Re: Swimming App Project Idea [Foster_1998] [ In reply to ]
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42point2
Oct 24, 18 17:49
Post #2 of 13 (1166 views)
That sounds pretty impressive. I would certainly be interested in something like that. I have never paid for an app before though, so it is unlikely I would pay for this.

Number 2 sounds like the option which may be most beneficial, but being able track my laps would be great, because I also tend to lose count. I am sceptical on how accurate this would be, is it actually going to recognize me with my head in the water? How far away would the phone need to be?
instagram.com/42pointtwo
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Re: Swimming App Project Idea [42point2] [ In reply to ]
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iamuwere
Oct 24, 18 18:15
Post #3 of 13 (1131 views)
42point2 wrote:
I have never paid for an app before though, so it is unlikely I would pay for this.

You've never paid for an app before? Really? I find that somewhat wild.


To OP, would this phone be sitting on deck or below the water? I don't know I trust my phone unattended on deck at my pool anyway
Quote Reply
Re: Swimming App Project Idea [Foster_1998] [ In reply to ]
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lightheir
Oct 24, 18 18:20
Post #4 of 13 (1120 views)
If you could make it work so it counted my laps automatically, I would throw my money at you. In fact, I'd bet you can patent it and Garmin etc. would throw megabucks at you to own it themselves.
Quote Reply
Re: Swimming App Project Idea [Foster_1998] [ In reply to ]
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alex_korr
Oct 24, 18 20:45
Post #5 of 13 (1074 views)
I kinda doubt that this will work for a few simple reasons. I am assuming that you would not want the users to actually swim with the phone, right?

With that I'll assume that the phone would need to be positioned on the deck, close enough to the edge and essentially be running a non-stop video recording that you'd run through a ML type of an algo, based around image recognition, right?

1. crowded lanes would make it hard to recognize the user vs other swimmer in the lane
2. i am not sure if it'd recognize the user flipping a turn 25 yards or 50m away from the camera
3. a lot of pools have strict policies against filming
4. position phones near the edge of the lane is dangerous - it's too easy to drop it in the water or have some accidentally do it for you...

there might be some other issues with the video processing on the phone - it might be possible to leverage the cloud resoources like Rekognition in aws, etc, but that'd require some bandwidth and might make it too costly....
Next races on the schedule: none at the moment
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Re: Swimming App Project Idea [Foster_1998] [ In reply to ]
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JasoninHalifax
Oct 24, 18 21:05
Post #6 of 13 (1055 views)
I’m not really the target market, but my suggestion is that you’re trying to fit too much in. Pick the one thing that interests you the most, get that working, then add features. You’re better off having a limited feature set that actually works than a large feature set that doesn’t. You can always add stuff later, that’s how most successful software is built anyway.
Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly
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Re: Swimming App Project Idea [Foster_1998] [ In reply to ]
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MattyK
Oct 24, 18 21:29
Post #7 of 13 (1045 views)
Is this just a student project or something you're thinking to commercialise?


It sounds like an overly complicated solution to problems that already have solutions. Plus some outright dealbreakers like the filming in a public pool thing. (Let alone just dropping your phone in the pool or having it stolen)

Foster_1998 wrote:
The reason I am developing this app is that I find wearing a watch while swimming to be annoying.
So focus on that problem. Design a new watch band, or a headband or something.

On the other hand, triathletes like to pay way too much for overly complicated stuff, so you're in the right place...
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Re: Swimming App Project Idea [MattyK] [ In reply to ]
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realAB
Oct 24, 18 22:41
Post #8 of 13 (1010 views)
https://www.instagram.com/...igshid=1rl00mp390hx3

Phlex, Triton Wear already exist.
___________________________________________
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2020 National Masters Champion - M40-44 - 400m IM
Canadian Record Holder 35-39M & 40-44M - 200 m Butterfly (LCM)
Quote Reply
Re: Swimming App Project Idea [lightheir] [ In reply to ]
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ajthomas
Oct 25, 18 5:42
Post #9 of 13 (900 views)
lightheir wrote:
If you could make it work so it counted my laps automatically, I would throw my money at you. In fact, I'd bet you can patent it and Garmin etc. would throw megabucks at you to own it themselves.

It might wouldnt be as hard as you think.

Wait let me try that again. It is unbelievable to me that we have this kind of technology. Astounding.

But: video AI is real, growing and changing the world. The technology is out there.

Would this settle the flip turn debate?
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Re: Swimming App Project Idea [realAB] [ In reply to ]
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JasoninHalifax
Oct 25, 18 5:44
Post #10 of 13 (893 views)
realAB wrote:
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bn105JkAbm5/?utm_source=ig_share_sheet&igshid=1rl00mp390hx3

Phlex, Triton Wear already exist.

triton wear was started by a couple of guys from my alma mater (after my time though).
Swimming Workout of the Day:

Favourite Swim Sets:

2020 National Masters Champion - M50-54 - 50m Butterfly
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Re: Swimming App Project Idea [JasoninHalifax] [ In reply to ]
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synthetic
Oct 26, 18 9:22
Post #11 of 13 (787 views)
Dear op.... Post analysis/trainimg plan app market over saturated. Here is what to do. Take advantage of garmin 920+ model watches blue tooth, have it feed to water proof cased phone on user's back, with that user having audio cables to ear so the watch can feed you real time audio pacing and other info. So far playtens marlin does this , but this being proprietary device
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Re: Swimming App Project Idea [Foster_1998] [ In reply to ]
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C2B
Oct 26, 18 10:16
Post #12 of 13 (771 views)
Regarding #4 and using the camera to count laps, it would be interesting to see how you solve for sharing a lane and/or circle swims but then when you are done I think there is still a problem. Privacy. Most public pools would forbid this setup. I did some underwater filming at the Y once and they let me, after getting permission from everyone else in the pool at the time. Their list of rules says, "no pictures" and "no video".
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Re: Swimming App Project Idea [Foster_1998] [ In reply to ]
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TrainingTilt
Oct 28, 18 16:38
Post #13 of 13 (691 views)
Hey cool idea around the tracking of laps etc via the phone.

I'd forget about that big long list of other features you mentioned for now, you'll never get anything off the ground with so many different features. You can add stuff later when you get users and traction. Pick one thing that solves a big enough problem a big enough group of people are experiencing and go from there.

I'm not 100% sure that you are solving a big enough problem in terms of targeting those who don't want to wear a watch?

Sure lots of people don't want to wear a watch while swimming but will those same people have the same or bigger issue with mounting their phone poolside and setting up the app before jumping in the pool? Gut feel is that's a lot more of a pain than getting used to wearing a watch. Also I think people who don't want to wear a watch in general aren't particularly interested in tracking the finer details of their swimming.

If I were you I'd focus more on a different problem even though the solution could be the same. I'd love to be able to film and track my own swimming without having to have someone else film me. Tracking every swim session and being able to play them back and compare them later is a pretty cool concept.


The privacy thing will be your biggest challenge as others have mentioned, most public pools I've been to don't allow filming.


Congrats on having the courage to post your ideas in here too! you'll get a bunch of feedback, don't get disheartened if lots of it is negative just think about it logically and the positive and negative stuff will both help you figure out what you should and shouldn't pursue. You may even come up with a new idea based on the feedback.

I think the technology is available to do the tracking thing even if you did something as simple as locking onto a configurable colored swim cap.

One last piece of advice, you'll never know for sure if someone will pay for something until you put a price on it and they have to enter their payment details. Focus more on problems and solutions when you are talking to people about your ideas.
Cam Langsford, Founder at Training Tilt
Should you be selling training plans as part of your business model?
Why your endurance coaching website maybe ignoring 97% of visitors
Free authentic marketing course for endurance coaches
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