Mr. Beep the Course Keeper
Mr. Beep the Course Keeper is designed and developed by Marty Stone. The initial device was built for blind rowers in Georgia, namely A.I.R.S (Athens Inclusive Recreation and Sports). The idea for the device came from Roger Keeney, who is the founder of A.I.R.S. and who wanted a way for blind kayakers to race each other going in a straight line. When I read about it in the news, I loved the idea of using it on my kayak. Marty made one for me as well and I started using it during my training.Marty and HACEMOS Team at ATT are full-heartedly supporting my project. They are now working on making Mr. Beep a complete navigational device. Thanks HACEMOS for your kindness and generosity!
Mr. Beep is an audio navigational guidance system. Its purpose is same as a Course Deviation Indicator. (Course Deviation Indicator is an avionics instrument used in aircraft navigation to determine an aircraft's lateral position in relation to a course. If the location of the aircraft is to the left of course, the needle deflects to the right, and vice versa.)
Mr. Beep on the water however is used to keep a straight course with the help of beeps. As soon as the paddler veers off course, he/she starts to hear beeps coming from the buzzers on his/her shoulders. There are two buzzers attached to each shoulder and they let the paddler know to which direction he/she is drifting. The more the paddler is off course the more frequently he/she hears the alert signal. Since frequency of the alert signal and course deviation are in proportion, the paddler can easily guess how much to the left or right he/she needs to paddle to come back to the original course.
The device has a compass module and it works as an audio guidance system enabling blind paddlers to enjoy their rowing experience without worrying about veering off course.
Updated version of Mr. Beep, Mr. Beep the route Finder, will have GPS and route planning capability. It will allow the paddler to mark waypoints on a route, to get information about speed of the kayak, direction of movement, waypoints in predefined distance, and distance to the nearest waypoint. See The Video Of Mr. Beep
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How Can You Support?
I will be training from August 2017 to July 2018 for my Project "Paddling From Europe To Asia." I am looking for people who canpaddle with me around San Francisco and Istanbul
teach me currents of the Bosphorous
help me with electronics, mechanics, and software/app development such as installation of Obstacle Detection and collision Avoidance Systems (ultrasonic and laser sensors), building arduino and Raspberry Pi devices, ETC
take photos and videos during my trainings and crossing the Bosphorous
help me with video editing and creating a short documentary about my project "Paddling From Europe To Asia"
Be one of my sponsors
Please contact me at ahmet@theblindcaptain.com if you are interested in volunteering or sponsoring.
Tech devices I'll use on the kayak
- Mr. Beep the Course Keeper
- Audio Compass
- Ariadne GPS
- Depth Whisperer
- Loc8tor
- Trekker
- Other apps and devices
Fishing with me!
Fishing is one of my favorite activity. I do pier fishing around San Francisco Bay. During my training for "Paddling From Europe To Asia" I am hoping to get into kayak fishing as well.I want my website, www.theblindcaptain.com to be a platform where blind and sighted fisherman can connect and go fishing together.
If you are a blind fisherman looking for a sighted fishing buddy or if you are a sighted fishing enthusiast who wants to volunteer please contact me at ahmet@theblindcaptain.com.