Pools
Form – Smart Swim Goggles Use AR Technology
Form smart swim goggles are the first swimming goggles with a heads up display. This revolutionary new smart goggle is taking the swim world by storm. The product represents an incredible leap forward with advancements in the field of Augmented Reality (AR) technology which have finally made their way to the swimming pool. We recently had the chance to have an in-depth interview with the Founder and CEO of Form, Dan Eisenhardt, and discussed the product in great detail on the Pool Magazine Podcast.
Eisenhardt, who hails from a family of swimmers in Aalborg, Denmark – has always had a passion for swimming. In fact, he swam competitively himself for 14 years prior to starting his career as a sports technology entrepreneur. “I started swimming at a young age. My dad and his brothers were swimmers, my grandfather was a swimmer,” said Eisenhardt, “so that was always interesting to have those discussions around the dinner table.”
As he got older, swimming remained a passion with Eisenhardt. He swam competitively and won NJCAA All-American honors while swimming for Indian River State College in Florida. While pursuing a degree in mechanical engineering, he also developed an interest in entrepreneurship. He would ultimately decide to go for his MBA at the University of British Columbia.
It was this decision that would set the stage for coming up with the initial concept for what would eventually one day become Form. “There was an entrepreneurship class I was taking and the first thing we had to do was come up with an idea for a business,” said Eisenhardt, “since I was passionate about swimming and engineering, I came up with an idea for a swim goggle with a heads up display that could show you metrics in real-time.”
For Eisenhardt, it was the answer to a problem that had always plagued him as a competitive swimmer. “I always struggled with not having that as a swimmer, being in the pool, and not being able to see the clock. It seemed either my goggles were always fogging up there was someone standing in front of the clock and I’d have to do the mental math of when I left and when I came in.”
The timing for such an invention may not have been right for Eisenhardt back in his MBA days. “I pitched the idea back in 2006, this is before the iPhone was launched. A bunch of people came up and said ‘this sounds really cool but do you know how to build it?'”, said Eisenhardt, “I said ‘I have no idea if it really can be built but it would be cool if it existed’. So off we went and became a group.”
It was during these initial explorations into the feasibility of the product that Eisenhardt knew that he was ahead of his time with the concept, “I quickly realized it was too difficult to pull off as a swimming goggle at that stage the miniaturization, the environment, the sensor technology just wasn’t mature enough,” said Eisenhardt, “We ended up building a similar product into a pair of ski goggles so you could see how fast you were going, you could get text messages while you were skiing and resort maps in your goggles.”
“That became a company called Recon Instruments,” explained Eisenhardt, “we built 5 generations of that product before we sold it to Intel in 2015. We launched the first product in 2010. We were sort of the Intel inside of the action sports industry, we called ourselves and then we wound up selling to Intel which is kind of funny. Our biggest customers were the eyewear brands like Oakley, Smith, Uvex, and Scott and all those big brands. They adopted our technology as a modular solution that fit into their goggles. We sold to them and eventually developed our own cycling glasses with a heads-up solution. That’s where we started and got a lot of expertise and then Form benefitted greatly from that expertise.”
The success of that product launch and eventual sale would spur Eisenhardt to pursue his original concept of a smart swim goggle. “After that happened I went straight back to my initial idea because now the technology was mature and I had all this experience,” said Eisenhardt, “I launched my new company Form, and three years later we launched the first product which are the form swim goggles with the heads up display.”
The decision to backtrack to these earlier years and revisit the swim goggle product is one that had come full circle for the innovator. Coming up with a superior product in the swim goggle space is an objective Eisenhardt considered his personal mission to achieve. A feeling of unfinished business and that the stars had finally aligned for this type of product would inevitably be what propelled the innovation that has become the Form goggles.
“I always thought the killer app for swimming was AR because there was no alternatives. There is nothing in swimming that can give you the real time information without the tradeoffs. I really thought it was unfinished and I wanted to go back to that starting point.”
Building the ultimate app for swimmers would involve finding the right people to help execute in the application design. “When you talk about AR, it’s a completely new category. It’s very different from developing other types of products. The hardware is potentially not the biggest constraint, it’s more of the killer app that runs on the hardware, or the business model. Here we’re still early on in AR, it’s taken a long time because it’s a difficult problem to solve.”
Eisenhardt suggested the challenge of putting technology in front of people’s eyes had constraints beyond mere engineering hurdles. Other early AR devices like Google Glass had failed because of the social stigma of wearable tech. Beyond that, the overall look and feel of the technology created a usability matrix of problems for Form to solve with their product.
It was through iteration prototyping that Eisenhardt would come up with the perfect balance for the Form swim goggles. Determining what was feasible was important, “we said what can we do from a hardware perspective, where can we position electronics, how much information can we actually show when you’re swimming and how can we dumb it down so that it doesn’t actually distract you.” In discussing the technology, Eisenhardt gave us an overview.
“The product works on a nine-axis sensor in the goggles, incorporating a (3-axis) accelerometer, (3-axis) gyroscope, and (3-axis) magnetometer into the wearable device,” explained Eisenhard.
All of these sophisticated sensors work in tandem with a machine learning technology Form has spent years developing with swimmers of all types of backgrounds and skillsets. This enables the device to be able to determine what swimmers are doing in the pool automatically.
“The device knows if you’re resting or swimming. If you’re swimming it knows what stroke type and how fast you’re going,” said Eisenhardt, “those core metrics our machine learning takes care of. Then we’ve got all sorts of other features that will calculate your last length pace and your stroke rate, distance per stroke, and all sorts of other metrics.”
“The overhead display chain uses a freeform optics wave guide which guides the light from a micro OLED display. This hits a beam splitter which sends the image directly to your eye so you see a virtual image that is always in focus,” explained Eisenhardt.
Getting accurate information that would provide swimmers with meaningful data to improve their performance was vital in getting competitive swimmers to embrace the product. Providing them with a 1-to-1 ratio of what was going on in the pool and giving them real-time data has been what has made the Form product a smashing success with triathletes, competitive, and recreational swimmers.
Getting the device to spit back the real-time metrics that was important to swimmers was something Eisenhardt worked painstakingly to get right, “We spent some time on that and the metrics that are important is different depending on what type of swimmer you are,” said Eisenhardt, “typically you want to be able to see your pace per 100, how fast you’re swimming, how far you’ve gone, a length counter or lap counter.”
The device also allows swimmers to see how they perform over time. “You want to be able to see your split times so you can compare current length over the last length, your heart rate, and so forth,” explained Eisenhardt.
Form swim goggles allow for custom configurations based on the data you want to see in real-time with three different contexts including Swimming, Stroking, and Turning. These aspects allow different data sets of information to appear on the heads-up display as they occur. All of this incredible data allows swimmers to have better visibility of their stats in the pool. The device is being touted as the swim coach’s assistant, given that the 10,000-foot data the goggles provide gives trainers better insight into swimmer performance.
Listen to our entire interview with Dan Eisenhardt and learn more about Form smart swim goggles on the Pool Magazine podcast.
One of the great things we love about mosaic tile in luxury swimming pools is the artistic versatility of the material. It’s a notoriously difficult medium to work with, but artisans are able to design incredibly sophisticated optical illusions in the pool with tile mosaics.
Designing an artistic mosaic that utilizes the entire canvas of the swimming pool takes real skill. The elites of the industry are adept at using tile as their preferred medium to paint a portrait that tells a story. One industry-recognized tile artisan who has mastered the ability to do just that is Ray Corral of Mosaicist, Inc. The Miami-based firm has built a reputation for designing stunning mosaic tile pool interiors.
Using Tile To Create Optical Illusion Mosaics
Collaborating with high-end builders and designers like Brian Van Bower and Ryan Hughes, Corral is used to working on luxury custom pools that require his particular skillset. His ability to create transcendent designs that draw you into the pool interior is undeniable.
Creating optical illusions in the pool is something that’s second nature for Corral. “I’ve come to realize that a lot of the simple things we do grab attention and people are just taken back by it. We take it for granted because we’ve done so many designs. Sometimes what we think is amazing because of the complexity, people don’t always understand and appreciate,” said Corral.
While most of the mosaic tile interiors Corral designs these days are for modern geometric-shaped pools, he still does a fair amount of freeform pool interiors. In South Florida, mosaic seascapes are popular and Corral caters to that clientele looking to turn their pool interior into a tropical lagoon.
Designing Realistic Seascapes
This particular project showcases Corral’s abilities at creating optical illusions with mosaic tile. From the intricate waves in the sand to the ocean scene inside the pool, creating those types of visual effects is definitely something that not every tile firm can easily master.
“When we look at the sand it looks real,” said Corral, “These clients wanted a realistic environment. They have tropical landscaping, bridges, landscaping inside the pool that just creates this type of oasis. They want to look outside their window and see coral reefs, fish, and aquatic animals,” he explained.
“There are folks that are close to the ocean, or the ocean is in their hearts, or they’re into diving, whatever the case may be. A lot of these people want scenery in their pool and we just to try to create them something realistic,” said Corral.
“When we put a design together we take into account that the reality of that fact is that most of the time the homeowner will be looking at the pool and not necessarily swimming in it. We take into consideration how the design looks from the second floor, first floor and when you enter the pool,” Corral explained.
“We also take into account the depth of the pool and the transition from the shallow end to the deep end,” said Corral. It’s in the planning and design of the elements that will comprise the entire scene, that he spends an inordinate amount of time going over with customers who want a pool interior of this nature.
“Many times homeowners are looking through our Instagram or our website or the books we have in our office to help them pick out elements to add to their swimming pool,” said Corral.
Creating a Tropical Paradise in Mosaic Tile
Designing the client’s ideal tropical fantasy in mosaic tile can be difficult on freeform style pools. Corral indicated that the shape of these pools is extremely difficult to work with and requires a certain level of planning and dexterity to properly execute. It seems to be old hat for him though. Planning an all-mosaic tile beach entry pool that transforms into a tropical lagoon in this fashion is something his firm Mosacist, Inc. does at least several times a year.
“What’s difficult is on these designs is that the closer that you get to the walls, the more attention to detail you need to have. It’s very easy for a designer to do a circle and have that manufactured somewhere else, but it’s difficult to design a concept that hugs the walls this way and have it come out well.”
Aquatic Mosaic Art
Designing gorgeous seascape mosaics for the pool isn’t Corral’s only wheelhouse. He showed us other breathtaking examples including a mosaic tile aquarium he installed for one of his customers From the 3D rendering to the real-world product, it’s incredible the amount of detail that’s involved to achieve these types of optical illusions.
To plan, design, and install all of the unique elements that will comprise a total scene, you can easily see how many individual mosaics are required to create effects of this nature. It’s an old world artisan skill and one that Corral has honed over his years in the tile industry.
“We’re always looking for that one client that wants us to do something we’ve never tried before,” said Corral, “We get excited when clients allow us to do something different. It gives our portfolio diversity and keeps us at the top of the industry.”
Listen to our entire conversation with Ray Corral of Mosaicist, Inc.
Photo Credits: Mosaicist, Inc.
Spring has sprung and that means it’s time to start thinking about opening your pool for the season. It’s also the ideal time to evaluate how your swimming pool’s interior is holding up. If you notice cracks, tearing, or separation occurring – it may be time to consider a vinyl liner replacement.
Replacing Your Swimming Pool’s Vinyl Liner
Choosing to replace your swimming pool’s liner provides an excellent opportunity to upgrade to a new pattern or thickness. During this timeframe, it’s advisable to consult with a pool contractor that can make recommendations on which liner brand to choose.
It makes sense that a thicker pool liner is able to withstand more impact. There are a wide variety of thick puncture-resistant liners on the market for homeowners to consider when replacing their liner.
Most swimming pool vinyl liners offer approximately 5-10 years of usage before they start to become faded or begin to deteriorate. Simple environmental stress coupled with the routine wear and tear of seasonal use can accelerate this process quicker in some areas of the country. Taking precautions to protect your swimming pool in the off-season with a pool cover, will certainly help prolong the life of your vinyl pool liner.
Signs Your Pool’s Vinyl Liner Needs To Be Replaced
Each year when you open your swimming pool, you should be checking for signs that your vinyl liner has successfully survived another winter. There are basically 6 surefire indications that your vinyl liner is on its way out.
The 6 Signs Your Swimming Pool’s Vinyl Liner Needs Replacement
- Fading in your pool’s vinyl liner
- Cracks and tears in the liner
- Wrinkling and deformities
- Problems with liner bead
- Discoloration and staining
- Water loss and leaks
How Long Do Vinyl Liners Last?
These days, the average shelf life of a vinyl pool liner is much shorter than in years past. “Vinyl pool liners used to last between 20 to 30 years in the average pool. Virtually everyone got more than 10 or 12 years even if you were terrible with your maintenance and water chemistry. The days of seeing this kind of longevity from a 30 mil inground pool liner are gone,” said Steven Goodale in an article he wrote on this very subject.
The Realistic Life Span of a Vinyl Liner
These days, you’re lucky to see 7-10 years of life out of a liner on the high-end, but the reality is probably going to be closer to 5 years before it starts to look really aged.
What Causes a Swimming Pool’s Vinyl Liner To Deteriorate?
A major problem that homeowners encounter with their vinyl pool liner has to do with mother nature and chemically treating their swimming pool. The Sun’s UV rays along with the harsh chemicals used to sanitize the water itself can cause a liner to fade over time.
There are other factors that can cause a vinyl liner to deteriorate quicker than expected. Chlorine is corrosive and can effectively bleach your pool liner. Failing to manage the pH can also cause the water to become acidic enough to chemically siphon the very plasticizers that keep your vinyl liner pliable.
“Over more time, a liner in a low pH ‘acid bath’ will become brittle, fade in color and eventually begin to literally fall apart,” said Arnold in his article – 5 Ways to Destroy a Vinyl Pool Liner
One of the biggest problems that vinyl liner pool owners tend to encounter is their liner slipping out of the coping track. This is caused very simply by the liner losing its elasticity with age and use. While there are ways to put a vinyl liner back on its track, this is a sign to look for when evaluating whether or not to replace your liner altogether.
Swimming Pool Vinyl Liner Replacement
If you notice signs your vinyl liner needs replacement, the best advice is to schedule an estimate with a pool contractor that specializes in vinyl liner swimming pools. Once they’re able to ascertain that the liner truly does need to be replaced, they can place an order for a replacement.
Last season it was very difficult for consumers to get their hands on vinyl liners in a timely fashion. Many orders were delayed for months due to a wide variety of logistical delays and manufacturing shortages. This year, many of the same conditions prevail so it’s advisable that consumers get their orders in as early in the season as they can. Doing so will ensure their liner can be scheduled for installation as quickly as possible.
An Expected Cost of Owning a Vinyl Liner Pool
“As far as construction costs are concerned, vinyl liner pools are certainly the more economic option when compared to high-end materials like gunite pools.” said San Diego Pool Builder – Bar Zakheim, “However, replacing your pool’s vinyl liner still has a pretty hefty price tag associated with it. While this is an anticipated cost for vinyl liner pool owners, it still remains one of the main drawbacks of building a vinyl liner pool. It’s definitely something I warn folks about ahead of time if they are considering buying a vinyl liner pool.”
When considering replacing your swimming pool’s vinyl liner, the time to act is before summer begins. Once the summer starts it becomes extremely difficult to get your liner as manufacturers are often backlogged with existing orders to fulfill.
Ordering your liner in the off-season is the best advice to ensure that your pool is swim-ready with a new liner installed in time for the upcoming swim season. If you’re trying to get your hands on the perfect vinyl liner, you may want to check the resource list of pool liner manufacturers below.
Pool Liner Manufacturers
TARA
Swimming pool company Tara Manufacturing in AL is a leading provider of vinyl swimming pool liners and winter pool safety covers for inground swimming pools.
Loop-Loc
Known for Safety Pool Covers strong and tough enough to support an elephant. Loop-Loc also makes a wide range of luxury pool liners.
Merlin Industries
Merlin Industries is a premier manufacturer of vinyl liners, safety covers, spa covers, steps, and safety fences.
Dover Vinyl Products
A leading manufacturer of pool liners and cover products. Dover Vinyl Products has been manufacturing vinyl liners in the USA since 1971.
Garrett Liners
Garrett Liners is the longest-established vinyl swimming pool liner manufacturer in the world and a leading manufacturer of inground and above-ground liners as well as safety covers.
Precision Vinyl Corp
Since 1987 Precision Vinyl Corp has manufactured custom made 20 ml. vinyl pool liners, and a wide range of other vinyl products.
GLI Pool Products
A Latham Pools brand, GLI Pool Products’ core offerings are inground and above-ground pool vinyl liners as well as custom pool safety covers.
Cardinal Liners
Cardinal Liners has been making liners for 47 years, with a staff that has a combined 150 years of experience. Cardinal Systems, Inc. welcomed Pen Fabricators into the Cardinal family a number of years back.
McEwen Industries
McEwen Industries offers one of the finest selections of inground and above-ground vinyl liner patterns in the swimming pool industry. The company also manufactures an exclusive line of pool safety covers.
Pocono Pool Products
Pocono Pools Products specializes in manufacturing inground and above-ground pool liners. The firm has been manufacturing quality vinyl liners since 1981.
Swimline Corp
Founded in 1971, Swimline is one of the nation’s largest manufacturers of inground and above-ground pool liners as well as pool safety covers.
Kayden Manufacturing, Inc.
Based in Paterson, NJ – Kayden Manufacturing, Inc. is a family-owned business and manufacturer of pool liners and pool bladders.
Pegasus Products
Pegasus Products is a family-run business based in Branchburg, NJ and a manufacturer of inground and above ground pool liners and pool safety covers.
Latham
The most well-known manufacturer of inground and above-ground vinyl pool liners and safety covers, Latham Pools has a number of brands including CoverLogix, CoverStar, GLI Pool Products, Kafko Pool Products, Plastimayd and others.
Featured Photo Credit: Inyo Pools
This year, National Pool Opening Day is April 30th and marks the official first day of the swim season across the country. Of course, not everyone opens their pool on the last Saturday of April. Many pools in the northeast will remain closed for a few more weeks. This weekend, however, is the ideal time to stock up on pool chemicals, supplies, or equipment for the summer season! From coast to coast homeowners are opening up their swimming pools and it’s an important time for pool companies as well.
Pool openings mark a critical point in the operational success of swimming pools. Failing to follow the right steps can cause costly damage. It is absolutely vital that homeowners in particular pay close attention to following the correct procedure when opening their inground or above-ground pool.
How Did National Pool Opening Day Get Started?
National Pool Opening Day comes on the last Saturday of April each year. Annually the day is celebrated to encourage pool owners to get their swimming pools ready for summer. The day itself was actually started back in 2016 by Leslie’s Pool Supply as a way to acknowledge the first swim day of the summer and get people thinking about cleaning their swimming pool.
We want to ensure that you start your swim season off the right way, here are some great resources you can use for making certain you open your pool correctly.
Resources For Opening Swimming Pools
Swim University
Swim University is a robust knowledge base and video tutorial library that teaches homeowners the basics of proper pool care and maintenance. Aside from taking an entertaining approach to education, host Matt Giovanisci provides practical and straightforward tips and hints. You’ll find all of the basic information one would need to learn about opening a swimming pool on SwimUniversity.com
Leslie’s Pool Supplies
Leslie’s Pool Supplies has everything you’ll need in terms of chemicals and maintenance equipment. They can also provide great advice in-store about any products you’ll need for opening your swimming pool. With over 950 stores around the country, it isn’t very hard to find a Leslie’s near you. In fact, if you bring them a water sample from your pool, they’ll tell you exactly what chemicals you need to purchase in order to balance your water chemistry. An important resource for homeowners, and a great way to get exactly what you need for opening your pool correctly.
Pool Contractor
If you have concerns or any misgivings about how to open your swimming pool yourself, the best advice is to hire a professional pool contractor. With over 35,000 vetted pool service technicians in their directory, they provide a comprehensive list of pool builders and pool service companies around the nation. Whether you need to open your swimming pool, or have basic repairs or upgrades that need to be made; you’re sure to find a top-notch service provider in their directory.
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