Deus Ex Aria - update clarified

Earlier this week I posted another Deus Ex Aria update.  The company has decided to issue some clarifications over the information that had previously been given, so I thought I would pass them on.

The Smart Strap will be manufactured with the same silicone material (and indeed the same facilities) used for the stock Pebble Time strap.  Those of you who have a Pebble Time will already know what this is like, but for the rest of us, I'm assured it's very soft and ergonomic.  They want to make a strap that feels just as nice, looks as slick and unobtrusive, but with the Aria technology under the hood.

All Kickstarter backers (pledging $1 and above) will get a single use voucher code that will give them a 25% discount on Metal Pebble Time straps that will be made available through their online store.

The Aria clip is a Universal Bluetooth Controller, so it will work with all Bluetooth devices, its compatibility will be extended to most smart watches: Android Wear devices, Apple Watch, original Pebble, Pebble Time (Steel); but its functionality is not limited to smart watches.  The Aria clip can be used to control your iOS devices, Mac, PC, GoPro, and in principle any Bluetooth smart device.  Aria will support the new generations of smart watches too, as these will just be running updated versions of Android/iOS.

Here is a video from some time ago which demonstrates the clip in action:

Deus Ex Aria - update

I have some more information about the Deus Ex Aria, hot off the press!

The set of devices that are being made are... 

• A single silicone strap designed around the Pebble Time (and Pebble Time Steel) 
• A UNIVERSAL Bluetooth module that will initially support Android devices, but will later be extended to the original Pebble, Apple Watch and iOS smartphones after launch.

They have decided not to proceed with a steel version of the strap.  After talking to their designer and suppliers they've concluded that starting to work on a metal strap now would cause a major setback to the production line.  Instead they will focus their resources and efforts on making the above products as best as possible, and have them shipped to backers as soon as possible.  They would rather positively surprise backers, than over promise and continuously delay shipments.

However, because they love their backers, and to thank them for their support, they have decided to include a single-use voucher code with every Kickstarter shipment.   This voucher can be used on their online store, which should make a metal strap available soon after launch.

And finally... ARIA + ARDUINO = ARDUARIA!  Of course you can connect to your Arduino via Bluetooth, but what if you wanted to use your Pebble Strap with an Arduino?  They are working on a further feature just for you - the strap will come with a CAD adapter and Arduino project that will help you come up with your very own Maker Watch.  

Here's a video which guides you through what can be done by connecting your Aria to an Arduino... 

Deus Ex Aria - update

Well things seem to be happening now the Kickstarter has been fully funded for the Deus Ex Aria, which I've posted about before.  The London based company is even hiring two new software developers, one for Pebble and one for Android, which is promising.

There's also a couple of new Youtube videos available.  The first tells more about the clip itself, whereas the second covers a calibration demo...

The demo certainly looks pretty cool - if it works that well for me then I'll be very happy with it!

So that's it for now, but I'll keep updating you when I find out more.

Fibonacci Clock

I've developed a new watch face, which I'm pretty excited about, and just released on the Play store.

The inspiration came from a Kickstarter project called Fibonacci Clock.  The description goes something like this...

The Fibonacci Clock has been designed for curious and inventive people who like a time piece that keeps them on their toes. Beautiful and fun at the same time, the clock uses the famous Fibonacci sequence to display time in a brand new way. 

The Fibonacci sequence is a sequence of numbers created by the Italian mathematician Fibonacci in the 13th century. This is a sequence starting with 1 and 1, where each subsequent number is the sum of the previous two. For the clock I used the first 5 terms: 1, 1, 2, 3 and 5.

The screen of the clock is made up of five squares whose side lengths match the first five Fibonacci numbers: 1, 1, 2, 3 and 5. The hours are displayed using red and the minutes using green. When a square is used to display both the hours and minutes it turns blue. White squares are ignored. 

To tell time on the Fibonacci clock you need to do some math. To read the hour, simply add up the corresponding values of the red and blue squares. To read the minutes, do the same with the green and blue squares. The minutes are displayed in 5 minute increments (0 to 12) so you have to multiply your result by 5 to get the actual number.

The two smaller squares display additional information when the watch is in bright mode. The top one displays which minute within the 5 minute increment, and the bottom one displays the seconds.

For example, the time above is...

• 5 (blue) + 3 (red) = 8 o'clock.
• 5 (blue) + 2 (green) = 7.  7 * 5 = 35.  Therefore: 8:35.
• The top small square is pointing down, which indicates 3 minutes.  Therefore: 8:38.

Tapping on the watch face reveals a reminder of how to tell the time...

Often, there are multiple ways to display a single time. There are, for example, 16 different ways to display 6:30. In the first version of this watch face, the highest value squares are always picked first (6 = 5 + 1), but I hope to update the watch with a randomiser in future.

If you want to download this watch face, it's available on the Play store.

Aria - change to Deus Ex Aria

A few weeks ago I posted about the upcoming Aria gesture control device for smart watches.  Well now, for trademark reasons, it's being re-branded as the Deus Ex Aria.

After a bit of a delay sorting this out, they're now planning to launch the Kickstarted campaign on Thursday 18th June!  In an attempt to make this the biggest launch possible, they're also organising a Thunderclap.

If you've not heard of Thunderclap before, it's a site that allows you to sign up to a campaign, link your Twitter/Facebook/Tumblr, and then at a pre-determined time, your account will be hijacked to tweet/post an update.  The idea is to get enough people all tweeting/posting at the same time that the hashtags become trending.

In this case, the campaign is scheduled for Thursday 18th June - 12pm BST, with the message...

Deus Ex Aria on Kickstarter. Add #gesturecontrol to your SmartWatch! #Kickstarter #Pebble #AndroidWear http://thndr.it/1G5v6rC

Will you be signing up?

Aria - genius or gimmick?

Sorry, I've been quite quiet recently, working on a new project I'm rather excited about.  More on that in a future post though!

For now, I've just stumbled across Aria.  It's a small add-on that clips underneath your smartwatch band, on the underside of your wrist, and lets you control the device with finger gestures.  

It looks something like this...

It comes in a number of different colours, good for matching up with your watch band, and with a flexible link in the middle to try and match your wrist size.  It clips on to keep it in place, and is made with a silicone material to ensure a good and comfortable grip.

It connects to your smart watch via bluetooth, allowing you to access any feature you'd usually access through the touch screen, but using finger gestures that are then configured by the companion app.  

Here's an idea of how it works...

It all sounds rather interesting.  There are certainly times when I want to activate my watch and my fingers are greasy, such as when I'm cooking or eating, and this would certainly be useful.  But is it useful enough to deal with the extra size/weight of the device clipped to the watch strap, and another device to charge at night as well!

Apparently both a Moto 360 and a Pebble version of the device will be appearing on Kickstarter in the next few weeks, if you're interested enough to take a punt on these becoming a reality.