Audio Buoys Help for Blind Swimmers

Blind swimmer Pascal Andiazabal enjoys a dip in the ocean. A simple pleasure that's often denied to the visually impaired. But a new audio aid is giving blind swimmers at one beach in the south of France the freedom of the seas. Buoys fitted with audio sensors every fifty meters in the water tell the swimmer exactly where they are. Deputy Mayor of St. Jean de Luz, Ferdinand Echave explains how it works. [Ferdinand Echave, Deputy Mayor, St. Jean de Luz]: "The swimmer wears a bracelet with buttons in it, which when pushed trigger a sound message from the sensor on top of the buoy. The sound message from the buoy alerts the swimmer where they are in respect of the beach and where they can swim to." Pascal Andiazabal says the audio sensors give blind swimmers new found confidence in the water.  [Pascal Andiazabal, Blind Swimmer]: "So long as we hear the messages from the sensors telling us which buoy we are swimming nearest to then we know where we are and no longer lose our sense of direction." The system is still being perfected — the buoys holding the sensors become unstable at low tide. Echave says this and other niggling problems have to be rectified before the aid can be properly rolled out. With their owners out swimming, life's a beach for these guide dogs, enjoying a relaxing day at the seaside.

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News & Politics

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