UF students develop app to help beachgoers make the most of their day

University of Florida engineering students have developed an app that provides trusted intel to maximize beach fun. 

What will the weather be? How strong is the tide? What beach is best for families? Any sign of red tide? Dead fish? Strong waves? 

The BeachLens app  answers those questions and provides real-time engagement with beachcombers already on site. Developed in early spring, the app already has been downloaded 30,000 times.  

“It fluctuates, but we have around 1,000 to 2,000 people who use the app each week,” said team lead and app creator Ja'Rell I. Felix, a UF junior studying aerospace engineering. BeachLens is available on most app platforms. 

The team is working to expand the app’s reach — and find startup funding — but the project received a significant boost in May when it was selected as part of Seaworthy Collective’s Cohort 7 for the Spring 2026 Ocean Enterprise Studio & Incubator program. The team presented the app at the Seaworthy Collective Startup Showcase in Miami. 

“BeachLens brings together real-time coastal, safety and tourism data and turns them into simple, actionable insights for users. The core product is a mobile application that acts as a centralized hub for beach safety and logistics, moving far beyond basic weather apps to offer highly specific data,” Seaworthy founder Daniel Kleinman said in the cohort announcement. 

Seaworthy Collective is a non-profit that supports entrepreneurs in ocean innovation and impact. 

The BeachLens team gathers data for the app from multiple sources, including the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, known as NOAA.  

“We also explain what each data point means,” Felix said. “We're not just giving them numbers, we're giving them explanations of what those numbers mean and how it actually affects them.”

Felix said the app was inspired, in part, by the tragic story of 10-year-old girl who died in a rip current. If the family had a heads-up about beach conditions, tragedy may have been avoided, he contends. 

“This matters,” he said, “because over 353 million people go to the beach each year and don’t know what to expect before they get there. They go in blind, and this leads to over 100,000 beach rescues and 1.7 medical aids being provided to people at the beach by lifeguards.” 

Rip currents account for more surf-zone fatalities in Florida than any other state, totaling 285 deaths between 2010 and early 2026, according to NOAA. 

Citing safety and convenience, BeachLens users have been giving the app high praise on online app stores. 

“If you live in Florida or visit the beach often, this app is incredibly helpful,” one reviewer wrote in April. “I am a mom who moved to Southwest Florida a few years ago, so BeachLens is exactly the kind of app I wish I had from day one.” 

Another reviewer called BeachLens a “must-have” app.

“I love how it gives real-time updates on everything from tide levels and surf conditions to weather and water quality. It takes the guesswork out of planning a beach day,” they said.

And for information not gleaned from a data source, the app relies on beachcombers on site already for important updates. Example: See a shark? Report a shark. 

“If they see a shark, they can take a picture and put it on the app. That sends it to everybody else in that location,” Felix said. “Because we understand we can't be everywhere, we don't see everything. That's where the users can fill in those little details themselves.” 

Currently, Felix is on the road marketing the app and seeking startup funding.  

“I would urge all students to pursue their own business ideas,” Felix said. “It will equip them with an understanding of how a company is run, built, kept alive — how they can be valuable to society.”