Surfing Paddling Metronome

I learned surfing for the first time this past weekend and paddling was one of the hardest part of it. Here are some of the common mistakes/mistakes that I made:

1. 1. Starts increasing paddling “faster”(in quotations because by faster, it does not mean moving your arms faster but paddle the water stronger with the same tempo so that the surfboard moves faster) too late
   2. Not paddling “fast” enough
   3. Arms are moved too fast and lost the tempo
   4. Stop paddling too early

So I thought what kind of device can offer some cues to beginners like me? Auditory cue is a great idea here because there is already a lot to look at and strength requirement does not really allow haptic cues.

Here is the device that uses an acceleration sensor as input, and a speaker as output. The device always make sounds with the same tempo like a metronome, but depending on how close the wave is(acceleration), the pitch of the sound it makes is different.

Users can listen to the sounds to decide when to paddle faster, how fast, and when to stop while maintaining the rhythm.

I couldn’t accurately simulate the change acceleration change, so for demoing purpose, I’m swinging the acceleration sensor back and forth, but you can still hear the different pitches when swinging at different speeds.