This Watch Puts a Cuckoo Clock on Your Wrist
Kiyotaka Akasaka has created a miniaturized cuckoo clock for wrist-mounted timekeeping, complete with BLE connectivity.
You’ve likely seen and heard cuckoo clocks, which use an automated bird to announce the time along with an audible cuckoo chime. They’re interesting devices, and are often a marvel of mechanical craftsmanship from times long past. Of course they tend to be largish pieces, not suitable for portable use... well at least, until now.
That's because with a few more modern tricks, Kiyotaka Akasaka has managed to craft a cuckoo timepiece so small that it can be worn on one’s wrist as a watch. You can see it demonstrated in the video below, as it pops a tiny bird out of the window using a linear servo motor. Time is indicated in five-minute steps, via a series of 12 red and white LEDs arranged in a circular clock face pattern underneath.
The device's electronics consist of a BLE module for smartphone connectivity, an ATxmega32E5 MCU, and a DS3231M RTC, plus an audio amplifier and speaker to tweet out the time. A silent mode is available for more “formal” settings, which activates the bird without an additional sound. While "perhaps” not as svelte and informative as an Apple Watch, it'll certainly help you stand out in a crowd!