So, the open source Arduino watch project begins.
A fair warning: this is my first venture into blogging to document my project progress, so the first few posts might be a bit rough around the edges. Also, the first several blog posts on the project would be retroactive, as I decided to fully document it half way through. However, there is still a lot more work to be done so future blogs will be up to date.
The goal of this project is to create an Arduino based smartwatch that would be capable of providing similar features to modern smart watch offerings, but at the same time allow for one to easily program their own programs and features.
There are two ways I can see this project going:
1. I can make a watch kit based on popular and easily accessible parts that someone can either buy or reproduce themselves. It would use something like an Arduino Pro Mini and a few auxiliary boards commonly found on Ebay.
2. I can design a PCB that includes all the main electronics and then offer complete watches or kits where you can print your own housing, battery, etc. The benefit of this is that I could reduce the size and power consumption of the watch. This, however, will make it harder for someone to make their own version of this watch.
Since I am approaching this project as mainly a learning experience for myself I can see myself going with both paths. First creating a simple and easily repeatable kit based on common parts, and then later designing my own watch PCB.
Regardless, first I want to make a simple working prototype. Featured in the images is the first breadboard setup for the watch. It consists of a 3.3v 8mhz Arduino Pro Mini, a TP4056 battery charging and protection unit and an 128x64 SPI OLED. This was more of a proof of concept and I will feature an updated and explained parts list in the next post.
A fair warning: this is my first venture into blogging to document my project progress, so the first few posts might be a bit rough around the edges. Also, the first several blog posts on the project would be retroactive, as I decided to fully document it half way through. However, there is still a lot more work to be done so future blogs will be up to date.
The goal of this project is to create an Arduino based smartwatch that would be capable of providing similar features to modern smart watch offerings, but at the same time allow for one to easily program their own programs and features.
There are two ways I can see this project going:
1. I can make a watch kit based on popular and easily accessible parts that someone can either buy or reproduce themselves. It would use something like an Arduino Pro Mini and a few auxiliary boards commonly found on Ebay.
2. I can design a PCB that includes all the main electronics and then offer complete watches or kits where you can print your own housing, battery, etc. The benefit of this is that I could reduce the size and power consumption of the watch. This, however, will make it harder for someone to make their own version of this watch.
Since I am approaching this project as mainly a learning experience for myself I can see myself going with both paths. First creating a simple and easily repeatable kit based on common parts, and then later designing my own watch PCB.
Regardless, first I want to make a simple working prototype. Featured in the images is the first breadboard setup for the watch. It consists of a 3.3v 8mhz Arduino Pro Mini, a TP4056 battery charging and protection unit and an 128x64 SPI OLED. This was more of a proof of concept and I will feature an updated and explained parts list in the next post.
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