Simple Watch project illustration
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Simple Watch A compact smartwatch designed from circuit board to firmware.

2018 hardwaresystem designfirmware

Project Intro

Use a watch-sized PCB to test product-level system design.

I started this project to further develop my PCB and system-design skills with a compact, multilayer PCB design.

View source on GitHub

Design Goals

I designed a product-level smartwatch from scratch. The watch was designed to integrate a color LCD screen, capacitive touch interface, and heart-rate tracking. Despite its simple name, the design and engineering process were not simple.

Development

The project followed these development phases:

  • Planning the functionality
  • Designing the hardware systems
  • Choosing components
  • Designing, manufacturing, and assembling the PCBs
  • Developing the firmware
Bare watch development board
DEVELOPMENT / 01Bare watch development board
Watch board with display
DEVELOPMENT / 02Watch board with display
Assembled watch development board
DEVELOPMENT / 03Assembled watch development board
Angled watch board
DEVELOPMENT / 04Angled watch board

Current Status

As of the July 28, 2019 update, I had finished designing and assembling the prototype board for firmware development and design validation. The project remained unfinished. Zero-ohm resistors allowed individual subsystems to be isolated during validation.