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Watchy: Hackable $50 Smartwatch

spectrum.ieee.org

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Re: Watchy: Hackable $50 Smartwatch

#151

Post by tweetle_beetle »

CraigJPerry wrote: post #50
sfRattan wrote: post #17

Maybe I'm a curmudgeon, but I have subzero interest in smartwatches, even hackable or open source models. I want my watch to tell me the time, and I want it to do so 10, 20, and 30 years from now without having to fiddle with software. I love Linux. I cut my teeth on it in high school after one too many viruses on Windows XP made me bite the bullet and try debian. I love my Raspberry Pi. It went from retro-gaming con…

>> My Seiko automatic Bah, a real curmudgeon would have said a £10 Casio quartz :-) I flick back and forth on this. The features i actually use on my Apple Watch: 1. it extends phone battery life[1] 2. I'm UK based but i work with colleagues across APAC & NA - in 3 of the corners of the "infograph" watch face i have NYC, Mumbai & HK times, it shows the city, the 24hr time & handily the offset - i use this all the tim…

The Casio Royale is brilliant, but suffers from planned/functional obsolescence: an inaccessible battery, a face which is susceptible to scratches and a plastic body which is painted.

Re: Watchy: Hackable $50 Smartwatch

#152

Post by yjftsjthsd-h »

TheRealSteel wrote: post #115
yjftsjthsd-h wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Surely the real trick is to activate it blindly with your hands under a table or whatever? (Yes, also with a delay so you can have your hands visible when you get the call)

How often are you little in this situation that you need a fake phone call...?

Never:) Still fun to consider

Re: Watchy: Hackable $50 Smartwatch

#153

Post by IrishJourno »

jablan wrote: post #133
IrishJourno wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm the author of the article and the editor of the section: a while back we decided to use illustrations rather than photography for this section of IEEE Spectrum—it was a style choice, but it gives us more options in terms of showing components and process diagrams.

How exactly does limiting your language give you more options?

It's the nature of abstraction: just like a map versus a satellite photo, it allows us to more easily highlight particular features. It also allows for options like cutaways and x-ray style images, and allows us to compose scenes how we like without the hassle of setting up physical shots.

Re: Watchy: Hackable $50 Smartwatch

#154

Post by IrishJourno »

Alupis wrote: post #95
IrishJourno wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm the author of the article and the editor of the section: a while back we decided to use illustrations rather than photography for this section of IEEE Spectrum—it was a style choice, but it gives us more options in terms of showing components and process diagrams.

Why not do both when appropriate? Locking yourself into only using real images or renders seems very limiting.

When we made the switch, I was initially concerned about this as well, but as is often the case, well-chosen limits can promote creativity, just as say, choosing to work only in black and white might be done by a photographer or comic book artist, or choosing to use pixel art in a game built for modern systems. The illustrations also give a unified, and distinct, look to articles in the Hands On section, which is important in a crowded domain: the qualitative and quantitate feedback we've gotten since we made the switch has been quite convincing for me.

Re: Watchy: Hackable $50 Smartwatch

#157

Post by dillondoyle »

obenn wrote: post #33
dillondoyle wrote: post #32

Has anyone found a good fitness metrics watch that is more open source (no monthly fee)? Oura looks new with no monthly subscription fee. It looks like horrible to wear for serious sport though. I have Whoop but will cancel the monthly fee once my intro period is over. But Whoop would be worth it for me if instead it would be a flat price own outright + they allow 3p access to all the data not just heart rate. The wh…

In development: https://www.pine64.org/pinetime/

interesting thanks - though these things always look like cool ideas and render but never get made!

I wonder if anyone has tried to read and see if the whoop bluetooth data beyond heart rate is decipherable.

might be a cool way for me to learn something (or try to). i also have a climbing board controlled by bluetooth i wanted to see if i could 'hack'

Re: Watchy: Hackable $50 Smartwatch

#159

Post by throwaway3neu94 »

dandelany wrote: post #144
MrsPeaches wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Can anyone find any specs on how long the battery lasts? The ESP32 is a pretty serious power hog...

ESP's only a power hog when it's using the WiFi... In deep sleep it can go as low as 10 uA! .15mA gets you the low-power processor for doing sensor interrupts. In reality Watchy currently draws around 1mA while sleeping and 55 hours of battery for me, not using WiFi (not really a priority for me).. I think that can be improved with firmware updates, seems like there is potentially some low-hanging fruit. It's all ope…

That is a power hog, compared to say an STM32L4 with, per spec, ~250 nA deep sleep w/ RTC & some RAM (to make it at least somewhat comparable to the ESP) and 50uA/MHz dynamic run mode.

Also you shouldn't just take steady state values. I've had various ESP's on a power analyzer. They take a bit more (like 30mA for many msec? iirc) for a while during wake up (w/ wifi off) before the consumption drops to the final value. For example some of that goes into uncontrolled/undocumented oscillations on some pins (for up to 100ms?), thought that is probably a negligible part.

ESP's are only popular because they're the cheapest/easiest option with WiFi. At least that's why I use them...

Re: Watchy: Hackable $50 Smartwatch

#160

Post by hluska »

zikzak wrote: post #78
zikzak wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am literally "big boned" and have found a NATO strap is what you want for good a good, secure fit.

I have given you the exact opposite advice. Sorry. Doh.

No friend, don’t worry!! It was very kind of you to offer your help and experience. I appreciate you. :)
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