Joey Castillo of Oddly Specific Objects has released a follow-up to the Sensor Watch, aptly named Sensor Watch Pro. The Sensor Watch Pro remains a board swap for the classic Casio F-91W or A158W digital watch that replaces the original quartz movement with the low-power ARM Cortex-M0+ microcontroller.
The Sensor Watch Pro retains features from the Sensor Watch Lite and comes with a few upgrades such as a louder piezo buzzer, an RGB LED, an infrared light sensor, and a completely soldering-free experience. The new watch integrates a custom-fabricated metal spring connector that previously had to be manually soldered after purchase. We had also looked at other hackable watches in the past, such as Bangle.js, Bangle.js 2, and Watchy.
Buyers can opt for a custom LCD that extends the number of segments available from 72 segments to 92 segments. It comes with an onboard temperature sensor and can be connected to a MEMS accelerometer sensor board for more points of interaction.
Sensor Watch Pro specifications:
- MCU – Microchip SAM L22 Arm Cortex M0+ microcontroller @ 32 MHz with 32KB RAM, 256 KB of Flash with up to 16 KB EEPROM emulation area
- Display – Low-power 92-segment LCD with improved icons and alphanumeric characters
- USB – 1x USB Micro-B port (for programming)
- Sensors – Ambient light sensor, infrared sensor, temperature sensor, LIS2DW accelerometer with activity and tap recognition
- Expansion
- Modular 9-pin connector with I2C and five analog inputs or digital IO
- Edge-plated contacts for three interrupt-capable buttons
- Misc
- 32.768 kHz crystal for real-time clock functionality with alarm support
- Red, green & blue PWM’able LED backlight
- Reset button with double-tap for UF2 bootloader access
- Battery – CR2016 coin cell, 1 to 2 years battery life
- Dimensions – 34.5 x 37.5 x 8.5mm (in enclosure)
While the Sensor Watch Pro is similar to a smartwatch in several ways, it cannot be classified as one due to its simple display and inability to sync with a smartphone. However, it runs a custom, community-developed firmware called Movement that supports dozens of watch faces, including Day/Night Percentage, Interval Timer, Menstrual Cycle, Wordle, Tarot, and Simple Calculator. It is fully open-source, with 3D models, Gerber files, and firmware hosted on GitHub. There is an online firmware builder that allows you to combine the watch faces you want in a UF2 file.
The Sensor Watch Pro crowdfunding campaign is live on Crowd Supply with a funding goal of $35,000. A single board is priced at $75, with a shipping fee of $8 within the US and $18 to the rest of the world. The package includes the custom, 92-segment LCD and LIS2DW accelerometer board.
Tomisin is a writer specializing in hardware product reviews, comparisons, and explainers. He is very passionate about small form factor and single-board computers.
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All I really want from a watch is the ability to sorta keep decent time and securely and inexpensively hold lots of data.
This doesn’t exist so I designed a simple locking enclosure for a micro SD card that discreetly slips over a 22mm watch strap .
Now, I carry all my critical data everywhere I go (even the shower) and it is just as safe as I am, if not safer. Authorities won’t expend any effort for a memory card but they will to recover a body.
Would you be willing to make the STL file for that available on Thingiverse or Cults3D?
I’ve thought about it but it is actually 3 pieces that I solvent weld together.
looks nice! Though I’m surprised your microSDs survive a shower in that?!
Water doesn’t penetrate them. They’re a solid piece of epoxy. Just make sure it’s dry before plugging it in so the contacts don’t short.
I uploaded to Thingiverse but it will take 24 hours before it is available to the public.
watch_microSD
Nice! Reminds me a bit of N-O-D-E’s mod
BTW: 1970 SoC was first used
https://www.computerhistory.org/siliconengine/digital-watch-is-first-system-on-chip-integrated-circuit/
Oh, that firmware builder takes you to a watch emulator, how cool! I’m sorely tempted by this…
I would dare to wear this outside my own country:
“the ban on the Casio F-91W in the USA stems from its unintended association with terrorism. In the early 2000s, intelligence agencies discovered that the watch was being used by terrorist organizations to construct improvised explosive devices (IEDs).1”
The irony is it’s also heavily associated with CIA agents.
Remind me who carried out Operation Cyclone…?
Oh, it does not have BLE. That’s a missed opportunity and a bit unforunate when considering the price. nrf52840 or 52833 would give you that and more flash/ram too.
If you want to go down the BLE road, have a look at:
https://gitlab.com/_Pegor/kepler_fw
Of course, the price you pay is losing the 1-2 year battery life / low maintenance aspect. Regular charging would be required as with most other smart watches
well it depends on BLE usage, 1 year is still doable. kepler fw project is interesting except the oled, some mix between both would be nice