Hello,
I’ve been thinking these days about making a smart watch that connects to the phone over bluetooth and displays notifications and much more useful informations. Much like Pebble: http://getpebble.com.
I already have all the required things for the prototype (LCD, bluetooth module, etc.)
First idea was to use an AVR chip but it’s pretty hard (not impossible) to make dynamically loadable programs so I remembered of .NET and this would much simpler to implement and develop.
Currently I own 2 EMX modules and a Cerberus board. I think the Cerberus would be a great platform for the watch. In the final version I would use only the chip and maybe a sharp memory lcd (same as pebble - reduced power usage, high contrast) - currently I use a nokia BW LCD. Maybe we could even do batches of PCBs for anyone for build a watch, or already assembled boards with ARM, BT module, LCD, etc. (GHI could help us here).
The big concern I have is power usage. So, can the CPU frequency on cerberus be dynamically changed. At what frequency .NET mf starts to become unusable? I didn’t have a chance to look over the code, but would it be possible to implement dynamically switching of the frequency?
I also see there are no specs on power usage in different CPU states (idle/sleep/hibernate/etc.). Has anyone measured?
The performance requirements are not that high, since it will have a small resolution display and just stay in idle/sleep most of the time.
So, do you think it’s possible to run the .NET mf from batteries so that the batteries will last at least 2-3 days in this conditions?
Any other suggestions?
How would you like a .NET mf watch?
Thanks