Amoeba

When DeMontfort University were asked by the BBC to develop three products for the Innovation Nation television series we were asked to join the goggles team and help take a concept to reality.

The inventors idea was to make swimming goggles from a flexible and transparent material. His prototype was a butchered shower cap with a sheet of transparent rubber over the eyes... we had some work to do! We had six weeks until the televised final of the programme.

Initial concept designs were based on exploring what could be achieved with injection moulded transparent rubber materials. DeMontfort concentrated choosing the right materials for the goggles and looked at their optical performance under water.

We explored different interpretations of the concept and a chosen route was developed as complex 3D surface models over laser scanned face data to help us understand the complex contours of the human face and how they interacted with our design. A prototype mask was made on a Stereo Lithography machine from our 3D files and latterly rubber cast were made for the final prototypes.

We had taken a very basic concept and turned it into something which was very plausible and was rated highly by swimmers who tried it.

The final design were not to be confused with diving goggles, the design was for leisure use and for professional swimmers that needed to protect their eyes from the water. The new goggles maximised their field of vision and maintained a streamline aqua-dynamic profile through the water. Plus if you were kicked in the face, the entirely soft design cushioned the blow, good for busy days a the swimming pool. The double strap design makes the goggles very secure.

After the television series had finished it was left to the inventor to try and make a commercial success of the product. But we have not seen 'amoeba' in the shops just yet! Which is a great shame.