Hack Around the Clock

The smartwatch platform fascinates many technically-inclined individuals because it offers the possibility of packing a tremendous amount of useful capabilities on one’s wrist in an unobtrusive package. But the features that present commercial devices like the Apple Watch or Samsung Galaxy Watch offer are not exactly awe-inspiring by most people’s standards. And being closed source and proprietary, these devices do not offer much to those that want to push the limits of what is possible with their own creations.

If you want to do some serious hacking, you can certainly build your own smartwatch from scratch. Such a device might work well enough, but chances are it will consist of an Arduino development board, display, battery, and a few sensors stuffed into a large 3D-printed case that you would not want to be caught dead wearing in public. Most likely, the user interface and supporting software would also leave much to be desired.

The fact of the matter is that, in today’s world, building a smartwatch is not all that hard. But adding the polish that makes it usable and stylish takes a whole lot of effort that few are willing to put in. Ideally, one would start with an open source, customizable platform that would provide some of the niceties like a compact hardware design, slick user interface, and supporting software that are needed in a finished product.

This is the platform that SnapSync is attempting to build with their open source Band-1 smartwatch. In addition to providing the basic hardware and operating software, some advanced functionalities like gesture detection are also baked in. It may not be as slick as an Apple Watch, but it is passable in terms of size and appearance.

The Band-1 is powered by an ESP32-WROOM-32D microcontroller with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless connectivity. The face of the watch is a 280 x 240 pixel round 1.69 inch TFT display. The battery is a common, off-the-shelf component that can be replaced by the user, and can power the watch for up to seven days between charges. A standard 20 millimeter quick-release mechanism allows the band to be easily swapped out to suit the wearer’s preferences.

A six-axis accelerometer and piezo sensor are included to aid in recognizing hand and finger gestures. The accelerometer can pick up swipes and rotations, while the piezo sensor detects micro-vibrations on the skin that arise when, for example, snapping the fingers, or pinching them together. A neural network runs on-device that can interpret these signals and translate them into gestures, which in turn can control devices like lights or music players. Band-1 currently supports three predefined gestures, but SnapSync says that number will be five before the device ships, with the ability for users to define new gestures of their own as well.

Naturally the watch displays the time and date, as one would expect. It also offers many of the other features commonly seen on commercial devices, like fitness and sleep tracking, and receiving notifications from a paired smartphone. Additionally, Band-1 can perform ECGs and measure blood oxygen levels around the clock.

A publicly available API is in the works to make customization as simple as possible, and the watch can be disassembled with nothing more than a screwdriver for those that want to extend the hardware. Band-1 is currently on offer in a Kickstarter campaign for about $180, but as always, there is a risk that Kickstarter campaigns will not go as planned. SnapSync noted that the hardware design has already been finalized, however, which is a good indicator for those waiting to get their hands on a Band-1 of their own.