Brent Boon was flipping through television channels one evening when he landed on a college football game. While most viewers were caught up in the action on the field, Boon’s focus was elsewhere: the marching band. As the musicians moved in perfect formation, an idea struck him — one that would challenge assumptions about who could march and how.
A retired Boeing employee and lifelong musician, Boon had spent the past few years teaching piano and drums to visually impaired students through his nonprofit, Pacific West Music of the Blind. From his home in Maltby, Washington, he taught students of all ages, helping them discover the joy of music. But what if they could do more than play? What if they could march?
“There had to be a way to make this happen,’” Boon said. “But it had to give them complete independence, without sighted guides or physical constraints. Just a system that let them move as a real marching band.”
Bringing that idea to life would be an entirely new challenge. No existing system could support a full-scale visually impaired marching ensemble. Boon needed a solution that was precise, intuitive and adaptable. To make it happen, he turned to cutting-edge technology and a team of Cal Poly engineers, launching an effort to create the first fully independent marching drumline for blind musicians.
If successful, the technology could not only transform marching bands but also open new possibilities for visually impaired musicians everywhere.
Knocking on Doors
With his idea in motion, Boon began searching for the technology that could bring it to life. He knew what the system needed to accomplish — keeping drummers in formation without visual cues — but finding the right approach was another challenge.
“I wrote up five pages of functional requirements,” Boon said. “What would it look like to have drummers in rows and not bump into each other? How would they make turns?”
Armed with the document, he started knocking on doors. In Redmond, Washington, he explained his vision to tech companies, searching for anyone who could help. His efforts eventually led him to HaptX, a company specializing in haptic feedback, which simulates touch through vibrations and other physical sensations. Though its core technology focused on virtual reality and robotics, Boon saw potential in their expertise.
Through HaptX, he connected with Bob Crockett, a co-founder of the company and a biomedical engineering professor at Cal Poly. Crockett, now the university’s interim dean of engineering, saw an opportunity for Cal Poly’s EMPOWER club, a student-run program dedicated to designing assistive technology for people with disabilities, to create a custom solution. He introduced Boon to the student team, confident they had the skills to turn his vision into a reality.
Engineering a Solution
That fall, a team of Cal Poly students from EMPOWER took on the challenge.
Among them was Emma Merriman, a mechanical engineering student from Minnesota who had read about EMPOWER before even arriving at Cal Poly. “I want to do that,” Merriman recalled. “I liked that it was hands-on, helping people and focused on Learn by Doing. I also wanted to explore the biomedical side of mechanical engineering.”
As the project lead, she assembled a five-person team with a balance of backgrounds in mechanical engineering, computer engineering, computer science, electrical engineering and biomedical engineering.
“The project is heavily tied to computer science and software,” Merriman said. “One of the biggest questions we had to ask when forming the team was, ‘Can you code?’”
During their first quarter, the team focused on research and development, investigating existing haptic navigation concepts and brainstorming designs. While haptic guidance systems exist in other contexts, nothing had been developed at this scale — or for something as fast-moving and dynamic as a marching band.
That’s when they landed on what they call the “goose formation.” Inspired by the way geese fly in coordinated patterns, the system will rely on discreet headbands worn under marching band hats. The drum major will set the course using positional data from a Real-Time Kinematics (RTK) unit, a satellite-based system that provides highly accurate, centimeter-level GPS tracking. They will also receive verbal cues from Boon, who will walk alongside the parade route, using a two-way radio to help keep the drum major centered and alert them to obstacles. The drum major’s movements will guide the rest of the formation, with data relayed back to keep musicians in sync.
“This breakthrough made everything click,” Merriman said. “Now, we have a direction that makes sense for how a marching band moves.”
With the critical design review complete, the team aims to have a working system ready for blindfold testing by spring quarter.
Bringing it Together
For Boon, this project is about more than technology — it’s about creating opportunities for musicians who have often been overlooked. Through Pacific West Music of the Blind, he has worked with students ages 8 to 80, many of whom never imagined they’d perform in an ensemble. Some of his students travel for lessons, while others join virtually due to transportation barriers. Regardless of how they participate, Boon has seen firsthand how music transforms confidence.
“They’ve had so few opportunities that many are nervous or hesitant to try something new,” Boon said. “That’s why I’ll be part of the testing. Once I can get some early adopters, more will join.”
Crockett sees this project as more than just an engineering breakthrough — it’s an opportunity to rethink how technology can level the playing field for visually impaired performers.
“EMPOWER is becoming known for delivering real solutions,” Crockett said. “This project isn’t just an academic exercise but has the potential to become a real product. If successful, it could be life-changing for an entire community.”
While the EMPOWER team refines the design, Boon is already looking ahead. He envisions his students marching in parades, maybe even the Rose Parade. But for now, the focus is on getting the system up and running, proving that blind musicians don’t just belong in a marching band — they can lead the way.
To learn more about the project and how you can support it, visit here.
By Emily Slater
