Our Story…

started with a vision. The concept of a device like OnCourse Goggles was conceived many years ago by Denisse, an open water swimmer and member of USAT, however the technology and methods necessary to achieve her vision was not known to her. She knew that such a product would help swimmers but had no idea how to create it.  Denisse, like many open water swimmers, struggled at times with sighting a buoy and swimming in a straight line in open water.  Zig-Zagging through open water left her tired and prevented her from achieving her personal best and she strived to find a solution.

Adhering to the theory of “six degrees of separation” Denisse was introduced by a co-worker to Peter, an enterprising electrician who had developed complex electronic systems, software and automation in several industries during his career, but could never make the swim team.

The two began to discuss various methods to achieve Denisse’s notion, but Peter rejected the idea of simply attaching a GPS box to a swimmers head. The idea was not novel, lacked simplicity and would require pre-programming coordinates in advance. Other ideas were overly complex, heavy and expensive. All of the early ideas were rejected over the course of one year, because they were not novel, viable or intuitive enough.

The project was nearly abandoned until the day that Peter took a hike in the woods with his dog Jetta and grabbed an old scouting compass. On the hike, he remembered from his scouting days how to set a target bearing and navigate to a destination. In that moment, the novel idea of embedding an electronic compass in a swimmers goggles to establish a target bearing was born. This method would not require any pre-programming or coordinate entry. With this invention, the user could simply face the target and press a button to store the bearing.

Peter shared the solution with Denisse and various iterations were discussed. Peter began to write the technical methods necessary for a US Provisional Patent application. Once again, added features began to creep into the design, until finally one discussion focused on Occum’s Razor, a principle attributed to the 14th century logician and Franciscan friar William of Ockham. One of the modern interpretations of this principle is: “If you have two equally likely solutions to a problem, choose the simplest.”  The decision was made by Peter, to strip out every unnecessary component until the device just stopped functioning, then add that one component back in that would restore the function. This decision opened the door to production of the simplest navigation device possible for swimmers; navigation goggles that would be so intuitive that no instruction manual would be required. The product had an amazing design.

The decision was made to move forward and bring to market a product that would help athletes achieve their personal best by swimming in a straight line in open water. A US Patent Application was filed on June 1 of 2015 and the development of OnCourse Goggles were announced to the world on June 2, 2015.

The company launched a Kickstarter campaign in August of 2015 and surpassed the project goal on September 18, 2015.

Over five years were invested in the development of the technology that is incorporated into OnCourse Googles. In many cases, a necessary manufacturing method had not existed, so the new method specific to the needs of OnCourse Goggles was invented by Peter, allowing the idea to become a reality. The company received notice of allowance from the United States Patent and Trademark Office in March of 2018. OnCourse Goggles are protected by Patent Number: US010012506, issued on July 3, 2018.

OnCourse Goggles began shipping worldwide in November of 2019.

Over 32 manufacturers and 18 vendors are now involved in production. These business relationships are second only to an amazing team of people who have been assembled and were involved in the development of OnCourse Goggles.

As the company moves forward with production of their patented technology, it is committed to a continuous effort to deliver creative new ideas coupled with quality, efficiency, and customer satisfaction and products that allow athletes to safely swim in a straight line in open water. New products are always under consideration and development.