07-27-2021, 11:45 PM
I was browsing hackaday and came across this:
https://hackaday.io/project/18033-raspbe...zero-prism
I've been wanting a pair of smart glasses since I saw Google glass, and went on to look at some of the DIY prototypes to see how feasible it would be to make a basic one myself. Based on the DIY versions I've seen, it's not difficult to produce something that will have some basic functionality. Additionally, the hackaday project linked above has done the best job making it compact.
Unlike the hackaday project, I'm not proposing any HDMI input or connecting it to a single board computer. Rather, I'm thinking of a product more along the lines of a pinetime - connecting to your smartphone or computer and displaying notifications, turn by turn directions, the time, weather, etc. It would be a simple, small device that clips onto the arm of a pair of glasses, with a small prism extending in-front of one of the user's eyes. The actual device is pretty simple, and should actually be pretty straightforward to manufacture. It would comprise of a small (< 0.5") screen, a lens, a prism, a microcontroller and a battery. I personally would be against including a camera.
Now the project linked above used a screen similar to this:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/392497361566
That would be awesome, but it would need a beefier microcontroller, and would making programming more difficult, and increase the price by quite a lot.
The best "simple" screen I've been able to find is this:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/293291361583
Cheap, small but no frills. It would be fine for basic notifications and display though.
That got me thinking, at the end of the day the device is very similar to the pinetime. Using the same microcontroller as the pinetime would greatly simplify development, as the smartphone/computer apps already exist, the firmware from the pinetime could be ported over, and that would bring along with it a bootloader, OTA support, mature bluetooth support, app framework, etc.
This would be a unique device, with no similar devices to compete with. A low end version would not be difficult to produce, and the great strides made with the pinetime would allow this project to hit the ground running.
https://hackaday.io/project/18033-raspbe...zero-prism
I've been wanting a pair of smart glasses since I saw Google glass, and went on to look at some of the DIY prototypes to see how feasible it would be to make a basic one myself. Based on the DIY versions I've seen, it's not difficult to produce something that will have some basic functionality. Additionally, the hackaday project linked above has done the best job making it compact.
Unlike the hackaday project, I'm not proposing any HDMI input or connecting it to a single board computer. Rather, I'm thinking of a product more along the lines of a pinetime - connecting to your smartphone or computer and displaying notifications, turn by turn directions, the time, weather, etc. It would be a simple, small device that clips onto the arm of a pair of glasses, with a small prism extending in-front of one of the user's eyes. The actual device is pretty simple, and should actually be pretty straightforward to manufacture. It would comprise of a small (< 0.5") screen, a lens, a prism, a microcontroller and a battery. I personally would be against including a camera.
Now the project linked above used a screen similar to this:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/392497361566
That would be awesome, but it would need a beefier microcontroller, and would making programming more difficult, and increase the price by quite a lot.
The best "simple" screen I've been able to find is this:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/293291361583
Cheap, small but no frills. It would be fine for basic notifications and display though.
That got me thinking, at the end of the day the device is very similar to the pinetime. Using the same microcontroller as the pinetime would greatly simplify development, as the smartphone/computer apps already exist, the firmware from the pinetime could be ported over, and that would bring along with it a bootloader, OTA support, mature bluetooth support, app framework, etc.
This would be a unique device, with no similar devices to compete with. A low end version would not be difficult to produce, and the great strides made with the pinetime would allow this project to hit the ground running.