02-04-2020, 01:43 PM
(This post was last modified: 04-28-2021, 04:16 AM by danielt.
Edit Reason: v0.4 update
)
Update 20 Feb 2021:
The wasp-os project is proud to announce the release of wasp-os v0.4. Wasp-os is a firmware for smart watches that are based on the nRF52 family of microcontrollers, and especially for hacker friendly watches such as the Pine64 PineTime. Wasp-os features full heart rate monitoring and step counting support together with multiple clock faces, a stopwatch, an alarm clock, a countdown timer, a caclulator and lots of other games and utilities. All of this, and still with access to the MicroPython REPL for interactive tweaking, development and testing.
During the v0.4 development cycle our focus was on improving the watch/phone integration whilst also taking steps to improve the general fit and finish. This release introduces a new clean-and-simple analog watch face, new button, checkbox and spinner widdgets to make UI more consist, new customization options such as a theming engine and a configuration tool that provides access to most of the new goodies without having to write a line of Python code (although Python is still fully available to those that want to make very deep customizations).
In this development cycle we have worked with the Gadgetbridge project to add wasp-os support to the latest versions of Gadgetbridge. For more information on how to obtain Gadgetbridge (hint: don't use the Play store) take a look at the appropriate wiki page.
As usual documentation is an important part of making wasp-os awesome so you can read up on how to install wasp-os and take look at all the new apps and features right now at: at: https://wasp-os.readthedocs.io
You can also see many of the new features in action by looking at some of the most recent wasp-os video blogs:
![[Image: 0.jpg]](https://img.youtube.com/vi/nps8Kd2qPzs/0.jpg)
A tour of the new applications for wasp-os
![[Image: 0.jpg]](https://img.youtube.com/vi/lIo2-djNR48/0.jpg)
Step counting and heart rate monitoring on Pine64 PineTime
Since I received my PineTime a couple of weeks ago I have been working whenever I have a spare moment to make my PineTime wearable. At this point I have, more or less, reached this goal! Admitedly It's not any smarter than the dumbest of my dumb watches but I've been wearing my PineTime for the last two days and I haven't been late to any meetings. That means I think its time to talk a bit more about what I have been doing.
Firstly, if you just want the code please visit: https://github.com/daniel-thompson/wasp-os (there is also a short intro video if you'd prefer)
If you're still interested in a bit more of the story... there are a great many different possible approaches to developing a firmware for a wearable like the PineTime and I wanted to experiment a bit with MicroPython to see whether I could "go fast" during development by using tools that allow for easy interactive hacking on the device itself and that also naturally shares a stack trace when I mess something up.
I've not got far enough to draw conclusions on whether MicroPython helps me get more done in my limited free time but I can certainly attest that having a REPL to send interactive commands to the ST7789 display was really good for helping me get to grips with how it actually worked (something I hope can be repeated for some of the other drivers).
As mentioned in the intro, wasp-os currently provides nothing more than a simple digital clock application for PineTime together with access to the MicroPython REPL for interactive testing and tweaking. However it keeps time well and has enough power saving functions implemented that it can survive for well over 72 hours between charges so even at this early stage it is functional as a wearable timepiece.
It also includes a bootloader based on the Adafruit nRF52 Bootloader which has been extended to make it robust for development on form-factor devices without a reset button, power switch, SWD debugger or UART. This is working well and allows me to update the main application over-the-air but there remain a few extra features that I want to get right before glueing the back on my own device (currently I am relying on double sided tape).
The wasp-os project is proud to announce the release of wasp-os v0.4. Wasp-os is a firmware for smart watches that are based on the nRF52 family of microcontrollers, and especially for hacker friendly watches such as the Pine64 PineTime. Wasp-os features full heart rate monitoring and step counting support together with multiple clock faces, a stopwatch, an alarm clock, a countdown timer, a caclulator and lots of other games and utilities. All of this, and still with access to the MicroPython REPL for interactive tweaking, development and testing.
During the v0.4 development cycle our focus was on improving the watch/phone integration whilst also taking steps to improve the general fit and finish. This release introduces a new clean-and-simple analog watch face, new button, checkbox and spinner widdgets to make UI more consist, new customization options such as a theming engine and a configuration tool that provides access to most of the new goodies without having to write a line of Python code (although Python is still fully available to those that want to make very deep customizations).
In this development cycle we have worked with the Gadgetbridge project to add wasp-os support to the latest versions of Gadgetbridge. For more information on how to obtain Gadgetbridge (hint: don't use the Play store) take a look at the appropriate wiki page.
As usual documentation is an important part of making wasp-os awesome so you can read up on how to install wasp-os and take look at all the new apps and features right now at: at: https://wasp-os.readthedocs.io
You can also see many of the new features in action by looking at some of the most recent wasp-os video blogs:
A tour of the new applications for wasp-os
Step counting and heart rate monitoring on Pine64 PineTime
Since I received my PineTime a couple of weeks ago I have been working whenever I have a spare moment to make my PineTime wearable. At this point I have, more or less, reached this goal! Admitedly It's not any smarter than the dumbest of my dumb watches but I've been wearing my PineTime for the last two days and I haven't been late to any meetings. That means I think its time to talk a bit more about what I have been doing.
Firstly, if you just want the code please visit: https://github.com/daniel-thompson/wasp-os (there is also a short intro video if you'd prefer)
If you're still interested in a bit more of the story... there are a great many different possible approaches to developing a firmware for a wearable like the PineTime and I wanted to experiment a bit with MicroPython to see whether I could "go fast" during development by using tools that allow for easy interactive hacking on the device itself and that also naturally shares a stack trace when I mess something up.
I've not got far enough to draw conclusions on whether MicroPython helps me get more done in my limited free time but I can certainly attest that having a REPL to send interactive commands to the ST7789 display was really good for helping me get to grips with how it actually worked (something I hope can be repeated for some of the other drivers).
As mentioned in the intro, wasp-os currently provides nothing more than a simple digital clock application for PineTime together with access to the MicroPython REPL for interactive testing and tweaking. However it keeps time well and has enough power saving functions implemented that it can survive for well over 72 hours between charges so even at this early stage it is functional as a wearable timepiece.
It also includes a bootloader based on the Adafruit nRF52 Bootloader which has been extended to make it robust for development on form-factor devices without a reset button, power switch, SWD debugger or UART. This is working well and allows me to update the main application over-the-air but there remain a few extra features that I want to get right before glueing the back on my own device (currently I am relying on double sided tape).