I
got my first watch when I was 8. It was a
Turkish Railroad pocket watch and I can
remember popping open the back cover to
peek at the wheels ticking away inside. I spent
the next two years saving my pocket money for a
Casio outdoor watch. The possibility of reading
weather conditions and tracking elevation
during hikes with my parents was simply
mind-boggling to me: How could such a tiny
device do all this?
Fascinated by technology, I went on to study
computer science and work as a software
developer. I stumbled across microcontrollers
and Arduinos during university, but always
saw them as big and clunky boards, perfect for
hobby projects, but not wearable devices. But
this perspective would change as I progressed
from the Arduino Blinky example to using
ESP8266 boards and designing my own sensor
network with custom PCBs.
Learning Hardware as a Hobby
Open source had always played a great part in
helping me understand how code works. Now,
open hardware projects gave me the possibility
to see which components made things work.
Looking at the code or design of a project is a
bit like popping the back of a pocket watch to
see what turns, ticks, and reacts to a push of a
button.
The more maker projects I studied and built,
the more familiar I got with microcontrollers,
displays, and sensors. I documented my
progress on social media, listening to
suggestions from others which ICs to try out
next, building up my know-how on hardware.
The more I tried, the better I got at designing
and 3D printing things, and reducing the size of
my designs, eventually circling back to watches.
What seemed to be an unthinkable piece of
technology suddenly looked buildable at home
using open source tools. Building a smartwatch
seemed realistic at last.
Design Goals
Creating a smartwatch itself wasn’t something
new since the success of the Pebble. And from
my experience as a software developer it was
clear that whatever I created would not be on
par with what is available on the market. But I
knew there are areas where a DIY watch could
still be better.
First of all, I’m not a huge fan of wearing a
device that measures my environment and
tracks my physical health and activities while
it’s also connected to the internet at all times.
Where does my data go and what happens with
it? Also, where is my charger again? These
devices have a shorter runtime than a pocket
watch from the 1950s and require a lot of trust
in the vendor. My watches work with no internet
connection, and no third-party snooping. All
calculations are done offline.
Another reason that caught my eye was the
possibility to 3D print custom watch cases. The
almost infinite supply of different filament types
and colors gives a level of personalization that a
PAUL SMITH
is a software developer
in Belgium with a passion for 3D
printing, electronics, and sci-fi.
p3dt.net
53
make.co
2–20 Hours
Intermediate
$45–$100+
» Open-SmartWatch PCB and display
Preassembled, or make your own from the open
designs. Includes:
• TTGO Micro-32 EPS32-PICO-D4 module:
2×240MHz, 320kB RAM
• Bluetooth 4.2 BR/EDR/BLE
• Wi-Fi 2.4GHz 802.11 b/g/n
• GC9A01 round TFT display, 240×240 16-bit
• BMA400 accelerometer + pedometer
• MCP73831 LiPo charger
» 3D printed watch case
» LiPo battery, 4.2V, 350mAh
» Watchband, standard or 3D printed
» 3D printer The watch is designed for FDM printing,
0.1 or 0.2mm layers, 0.2 or 0.4mm nozzle; SLA is
also possible.
» Screwdriver, hex H1.5
» Computer with Visual Studio Code and PlatformIO
plugin using Arduino Framework
» USB-Micro cable
M82_052-57_SS_SmartWatch_F1.indd 53M82_052-57_SS_SmartWatch_F1.indd 53 7/11/22 2:21 PM7/11/22 2:21 PM
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