Movement is independence.
As a soccer player and track runner, I’ve always taken for granted the “flow state”—that moment where your legs take over, your mind goes quiet, and you just move. But recently, while watching a visually impaired runner training with a guide at my local track, I realized that for millions of people, that silence is replaced by a high-stakes struggle for safety.
Today, I am officially launching this project: Biomimetics Inspired Guidance for Visually Impaired Runners. My goal is to use 3.8 billion years of natural evolution to help human beings run toward autonomy.
The “Stress Wall”
Through my initial research, I’ve identified a phenomenon I call the “Stress Wall.” It’s a neurological tipping point where the mental energy expended by a visually impaired runner to simply stay safe and avoid hazards eventually outweighs the joy of the exercise itself.
Right now, only about 0.05% of the visually impaired population maintains an active training habit. That means there are nearly 200 million people globally who are physically capable of running but are effectively “grounded” by their environment. I want to start trying to solve that problem.
What is Biomimetics?
Biomimetics is the interdisciplinary practice of looking to nature’s time-tested blueprints to solve complex human challenges. Instead of trying to invent a solution from scratch, we treat the natural world as a massive R&D lab that has been “prototyping” for 3.8 billion years.
Animals have already mastered the art of high-speed navigation without sight: bats weave through dense forests using adaptive echolocation, and fish move in perfect unison in dark waters by sensing subtle pressure changes. By studying these biological “superpowers,” I am working to translate their natural strategies into wearable technology that provides an intuitive, low-latency “sense” of the path ahead.
Teaming with The Bionic Project
I’m incredibly proud to be undertaking this work in partnership with The Bionic Project. Their authentic, community-focused approach to disabilities inspired me from the first time I saw them present at Branson.
Their mission is to dismantle disability bias, build empathy, and foster connection through education, story and sport. They understand that most non-disabled people have grown up without a strong connection to anyone who has a physical disability and this lack of connection can lead to indifference or fear.
I will look to them for support in navigating the disabled runner community and the researchers focused on the field. I also hope to amplify their mission. Beyond my technical research, I’ll be developing a curriculum for their school seminars to help other students understand the intersection of engineering, empathy, and inclusive design.
The Roadmap
Over the next year, I’ll be documenting the entire process here:
- Interviews with visually impaired athletes to understand their needs.
- Prototyping wearable tech inspired by the navigation of bats and electric fish.
- Testing early designs in real-world conditions.
- Education to share what I learn with the broader community.
A lot of work has been done on this topic through the years. I don’t expect to have a massive breakthrough, but I do hope that I can push the thinking forward even just a bit. I am confident that by sharing my story, I can help to dismantle the disability bias and hopefully inspire other students to do the same.
I am not exactly sure where the path will take me, but I am excited to start the journey.
This post is part of an ongoing research series at runlikeafish.blog exploring biomimetic approaches to assistive technology for visually impaired runners. If you’re a visually impaired runner, a guide, or a researcher working in this space, I’d love to hear from you. You can reach me at brooke@runlikeafish.blog