Maybe some of you remember when I went mega crazy over Omkar’s prototype for his smartwatch. I mean, this kid is 8 years old and has been messing with Arduino since he was 6, so he’s already in “the club”. Anyway, I just got word from 3D Print that he has an update and he’s getting serious with his work. His O Watch is now a fun colored 3D printed wonder, ready to do it’s next step–become a kit. Omkar has made this specifically for kids, but I think it works for certain grownups *raises hand*.
For the proposed kit, the basic watch uses an Arduino compatible core, a color OLED screen (yea!) and a LiPo battery. The enhanced version will include a sensor board with 3-axis compass, temperature, barometric pressure and humidity. So, you can be a walking directional weather station. Seriously, those are some nice features in a relatively small package. One of the cool things which really makes this an Omkar project is the additional craft component. The watch case can be 3D printed in the color of your choice, plus it includes paracord, so you can learn how to knot yourself a cool band. Actually the design of the case allows for a number of creative possibilities for the band, so I can’t wait to see what kids invent.
The watch definitely has a great look, but ultimately the real reason to get excited is the programming possibilities and STEM education.
With the O Watch, you will be able to program games, like Rock, Paper, Scissors, and…make programs that will calculate values, such as the value of pi,” says Omkar. “The O Watch is made using an Arduino-compatible core…Arduino is an awesome platform for kids like me to get started with programming.
I could swear I noticed an Asteroids style game on his watch, and after my recent visit to Barcade in Philly, I’m definitely missing my old school gaming. So, I’ve already signed up to be notified when the kit comes out. You don’t have to get as crazy as me, but at least join me in a cheer for a great Arduino inventor—OM-KAR, OM-KAR, OM-KAR!! If this is what he does when he’s 8, I can’t wait to see him at 20. BTW, he’s going to be at Maker Faire NY, so get his autograph while you can. If all of this doesn’t motivate you to pull out your Arduino, then you are just a couch potato. If you are looking to create a fashionable wearable dealing with time, you should check out our NeoPixel Ring Clock. It’s an artistic, colorful way to tell time using a FLORA microcontroller and a GPS module. You can choose from a few color schemes or have fun inventing your own. Making=learning—woot!
Every Wednesday is Wearable Wednesday here at Adafruit! We’re bringing you the blinkiest, most fashionable, innovative, and useful wearables from around the web and in our own original projects featuring our wearable Arduino-compatible platform, FLORA. Be sure to post up your wearables projects in the forums or send us a link and you might be featured here on Wearable Wednesday!
