DESIGN NAME: Knotch
PRIMARY FUNCTION: Bluetooth Wristwatch
INSPIRATION: Nowadays, there are many competitors and brands that started to produce smart-watches but they all had one thing in common, which was that the smart-watches are actually another mobile device within the watch. Therefore, we wanted to create a watch that is smart, but we still want the user to think of it as a watch instead of a mobile device. Knotch has only one additional function, receiving notification, so it was affordable by the youngsters who like to follow fashion trend.
UNIQUE PROPERTIES / PROJECT DESCRIPTION: Knotch is a wristwatch that allows the user to know incoming notification or get missed notification without looking or checking the phone frequently. The watch have a good visibility in reading time, date, and stopwatch with a very user-friendly user interface. The simple yet useful notification function allow the user to use the watch in a usual way yet considering it as a smart watch, so it will not disturb their everyday work as they do not need to consider it as another electronic gadget.
OPERATION / FLOW / INTERACTION: When the phone gets a notification, it will show up in the phone screen for few seconds to tell the user that there is message or email incoming. The watch itself will vibrate when there is new incoming notification so the users can know the notification by having feedback. To reject the notification shown on the watch, there is a button on the side called the rejection button that allows to stop the showing on the watch and vibrating of the watch.
PROJECT DURATION AND LOCATION: This project started in September 2013 and finished in February 2014 in Hong Kong SAR.
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PRODUCTION / REALIZATION TECHNOLOGY: It requires Bluetooth connection with the users mobile phone with iOS and Android, so all the information will be synchronised to the watch once there is connection. The watch does work while its not in connection but the information and notifications will not be updated. Once there is connection again, information and notification will be updated automatically. Users can also set that if the phone is not in range for the watch, the watch will vibrate to tell the user that.
SPECIFICATIONS / TECHNICAL PROPERTIES: MATERIAL: Watch body - Polypropylene Plastic, Monitor - LED panel, Non-reflective glass cover, Watch back - Stainless Steel
SIZE: 48.7 mm x 72 mm x 59.3 mm
BLUETOOTH: Bluetooth 4.0 and below
WATER RESISTANT: 5 meters
COLOUR AVAILABLE: Blood Red, Grass Green, Milk White, Pure Black, Sky blue, Lavender Pink. User can choose to buy it with White watch Strap or Black watch Strap. The colour can be customised according to the users' wish by order before manufacturing.
TAGS: Smart Device, Wristwatch, Smart watch, Knotch, Innovative watch, bluetooth watch
RESEARCH ABSTRACT: Friends, Family, and other people around us were used as a sample to target our product. Since our focus was to come up with a user-friendly and ergonomically friendly watch as well as the functions, both qualitative and quantitative research was done. Up to more than 10 initial designs were created, and we figured the best way to add all the good points together to come up with our final design. We kept going back to our sampled users to find feedback in order to improve our designs.
CHALLENGE: The hardest part of this project was to put both most up-to date technology and the users' wish into our design. At first, it was very hard to come up with the aesthetic design of the watch since we were focusing heavily on balancing the human factors that will be applied on the watch and how the watch can stand out when it is in use. Furthermore, it was extremely important to bring out our main function: to be able to know the notification without having to bring out the phone. At the end, we both decided not to start the generation of ideas by thinking it as a watch, so in the end we have designed something that broke all the traditions of a normal watch yet still be able to look as a watch.
ADDED DATE: 2014-03-29 10:09:41
TEAM MEMBERS (2) : (AKIRA) Deng Yusheng and (SAMSON) So Ming Cheung
IMAGE CREDITS: Akira Deng, Samson So, 2013.
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