Talking regatta stopwatch
Type of project: Feasibility study
Disability concerned: Visual disability
Topics: Participation in cultural life, sports and leisure activities
Status: In progress
The idea is to develop a regatta watch that is accessible to visually impaired sailors, while incorporating the same functions as ‘classic’ regatta watches.
During a regatta (a race between sailboats), getting off to a good start is essential: that is, crossing the start line at the exact end of the countdown. Sailing is a sport that is particularly well-suited to the visually impaired (lots of sensations), but at the start of a regatta, blind or partially-sighted sailors are not able to have the time counted down before the start. The use of a mobile phone application is unsuitable and prohibited in certain regattas. Existing watches used by sighted sailors are not accessible.
Some watches provide audible feedback (beeps every minute and seconds for the last 10 seconds) or haptic feedback (vibration). However, the remaining time cannot be displayed on demand.
The project is aimed at blind and partially sighted people.
The idea is to develop a regatta watch for visually impaired sailors that is accessible while incorporating the same functions as ‘classic’ regatta watches. The watch will have the following functions:
- Pre-recorded regatta procedures$
- Time settings with feedback on what the user is doing
- Voice announcement of remaining time every 30s, then every 10s in the last minute
- Audible (beep) and/or haptic start signals
- Integrated screen with configurable backlighting, colour and size of digits
- Large, distinctive and easily accessible buttons (number to be defined during the study)
- Synchronisation function
The watch will be fully customisable to suit the needs of the user and their vision.
In certain competitions, such as the Blind Match Racing World Championships, a crew is made up entirely of blind and partially sighted people, with a blind person at the helm. At present, crews who can do so use traditional regatta watches, but find it very difficult to tell the time and lose precious time. It is therefore essential to have an accessible stopwatch if you want to perform well and get off to a good start. Although initially designed for regattas, this stopwatch can also be used for other sports.
