After resisting all kinds of tempting offers to track anything, and everything, about my body, I finally caved. I have to confess seeing a pair of Form 1 Augmented Reality Smart swim goggles won me over. As an avid swimmer for over 20 years, the appeal to see swim metrics in real-time while I’m swimming was too hard to resist. The discovery of these magical goggles also coincided with a few key events. I’m overdue for a new pair of goggles. The coating on my current pair is chipping and peeling off. A very nice black-friday discount sweetened the deal and pushed me over.
Admittedly, they are not yet close to the Augmented Reality (AR) goggles I dreamed of ages ago. My fantasy (AR) goggles allow me to swim in any setting I choose. In this way I could magically transform the boring and somewhat dreary indoor pool to something fantastical like the Galapagos Islands, Great Barrier Reef, or Antarctica. One of the things I enjoy most swimming in open waters is the incredible scenery, including the way the sunbeams dance and sparkle in the water or create cool rippling patterns on the sand beneath me. My fantasy AR goggles made a cameo appearance in this year’s installment of technombie.
Even though these goggles won’t transport me to distant waters, they do have some pretty magical features all on their own. The Form 1 goggles provide me with metrics about my swimming. In my early years of swimming, I used to calculate these kinds of things in my head to stave off the tedium of doing laps. Now, much slower in math and swimming, I feel good about being able to finish my sets. However, I have no clue about the basic elements of my strokes. Since I rarely take lessons and often swim solo, the goggles can offer me valuable insights for self-improvement.
At a minimum they track time spent swimming, distance covered, pace, stroke rate, stroke count, calories burned and distance per stroke. However, spending a little extra for a subscription offers workouts and tips, no doubt fueled by an AI coach. The display appears on one of the goggles eyes. For starters, I’m going with the base package. I’ll need time to figure out the settings and find my pace!
Stay tuned for results from the first swim session.