Ruthvik: “I do not want this to remain project or a prototype that works only in a lab. I want a visually impaired swimmer to enter a pool and feel more confident and independent because of something we built.”

How does a visually impaired swimmer know when the pool wall is approaching?

Twenty-year-old engineering student Pasupuleti Ruthvik from Chittoor believes the answer could lie in a pair of smart goggles.

His innovation, Untethered, uses ultrasonic sensing to measure a swimmer’s distance from the pool wall and haptic feedback to provide a physical alert as they approach it. The technology could help visually impaired swimmers navigate pools with greater safety, confidence and independence.

Untethered is now among the Top 20 teams of Samsung Solve for Tomorrow 2026, a national education and innovation competition that empowers young people to develop technology-led solutions to real-world problems through design thinking, mentorship and hands-on learning.

The idea was sparked by an accident involving one of Ruthvik’s friends.

“One of my friends suffered a concussion in an accident, and that stayed with me. It made me think about how technology could prevent injuries and help people participate in activities without constantly depending on someone else,” Ruthvik said.

For Ruthvik, the innovation also brings together his childhood interest in swimming and his growing ambition to become an entrepreneur.

“I always wanted to do something in sports. After joining engineering college, I began thinking about entrepreneurship—not simply as starting a company, but as identifying a real problem, building something meaningful and creating an impact,” he said.

From Engineering Idea to User-led Innovation

Ruthvik entered the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow Bootcamp focused primarily on whether the technology could be built. The experience pushed him to confront a more fundamental question: would visually impaired swimmers find it useful and comfortable?

“Earlier, I was asking, ‘Can I make this technology work?’ The Bootcamp made me ask, ‘Who will use it? What problem are they actually facing? Will it make their lives better, and would they want to use it?’ That completely changed how I looked at my idea,” he said.

Through intensive sessions and expert mentoring, Ruthvik began examining the product’s feasibility, user experience and potential for real-world adoption.

“My mentors helped me understand what was technically possible and how I could approach the problem differently. Their guidance helped me move from simply having an idea to thinking like someone building a real product,” he added.

A Chittoor Idea with Global Potential

While Untethered began with Ruthvik’s personal connection to swimming, its potential extends far beyond Andhra Pradesh. He wants to develop the goggles into an affordable and scalable assistive product that could help visually impaired swimmers in India and around the world.

“I do not want this to remain an engineering project or a prototype that works only in a laboratory. If a visually impaired swimmer can enter a pool and feel more confident and independent because of something we built, that would mean far more to me than simply developing a new technology,” Ruthvik said.

As Untethered progresses through Samsung Solve for Tomorrow 2026, Ruthvik is demonstrating how an idea born in Chittoor could help make swimming safer and more inclusive around the world—one stroke at a time.