About this project
$263,265
956
Eyecatcher Has Been Featured on Discovery's Show IN THE MAKING
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Risks and challenges
We use specialized, miniature components in the Eyecatcher Bracelet. For some of these we only have a single supplier. Even though we have a close dialog with our suppliers, we are not in control of their actions. Every component is highly integrated into and optimized within the design, and an unforeseen component alteration can delay fulfillment.
We want to re-design the electronics moving from two rigid printed circuit boards so a single rigid-flex printed circuit board. Since we have not previously worked with this vendor, there may be unforeseen delays.
Battery life has been quantified using measurements and datasheets, however the real world battery life may be different.
We want to use a hydrophobic nano-coating to provide water resistance. However we have not previously used such materials or vendors, and so the real world performance has not been proven.
Learn about accountability on KickstarterFAQ
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It’s a bracelet that fuses art, fashion and technology.
There are 3 cuff designs: a men's flexible stainless steel, a women's white bronze, and a women's sterling silver. Each is available in 3 sizes: Small, Medium and Large. All are functionally identical.
Hypoallergenic materials including stainless steel, sterling silver, and white bronze (with silver or white rhodium plating), and plastics are used.
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You use the Eyecatcher app to specify what pattern, photo or real-time information the bracelet should display. The app encodes the image, asymmetrically compresses it, and transmits it to your Eyecatcher bracelet using the Bluetooth LE radio. The Eyecatcher bracelet then displays the images on an always-on ultra-thin, e-ink display.
If you select a single image to download, then the bracelet will display that image. If you select multiple images (up to 12) to download, then the bracelet stores those images in its memory and runs a slideshow of all the images with a delay you specify. Once a pattern or photo is downloaded, your smartphone does not need to be nearby.
If you want to show real-time information from the smartphone, then your smartphone must be nearby to send this information to the bracelet.
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With the free Eyecatcher app you control everything: which artwork is shown and when, optional keywords to filter notifications, how notifications will be displayed, the clock and much, much more.
Your Eyecatcher can display slideshows of patterns, customized photos, and real-time information. The Eyecatcher app has a large library of licensed patterns and photos that you send to your bracelet.
The Eyecatcher app includes photo editing functions so you can create your own patterns and photos.
The Eyecatcher app includes some real-time information sources including multiple watchfaces, filtered notifications, moving maps, QR codes and activity levels. We are planning on providing additional real-time information. The bracelet can display all notifications enabled in the Apple Notification Center. We filter these by user-specified keywords (e.g. Gmail, babysitter, Mom) so that you only display your VIP notifications.
There are how-to videos showing how to select patterns, create custom patterns and photos, and select real-time information.
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The app contains collections of beautiful patterns and artwork to choose from. You can also make your own custom images with the phone’s camera.
Today the Eyecatcher app contains over a hundred licensed patterns or photos that you can use for free. You can create your own patterns or photos using the Eyecatcher app. You will also be able to subscribe to artists who have published their own collections of images.
The Eyecatcher app contains photo editing functions to create custom photos. To create a custom photo, load a photo from your smartphone's photo library, crop it to the aspect ratio of the display, add doodles or text, map the colors to grayscale, and then send it to the bracelet.
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Yes. You can crop artwork, adjust contrast, overlay a message using a number of different fonts and even draw something freehand.
The Eyecatcher app contains photo editing functions to create custom photos. To create a custom photo, load a photo from your smartphone's photo library, crop it to the aspect ratio of the display, add doodles or text, map the colors to grayscale, and then send it to the bracelet. You can use any emoticons or fonts in any size on your smartphone.You can choose to send your custom photo to your Eyecatcher bracelet, save it in your photo library, or publish it to the cloud where others can subscribe to it.
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Not yet, all images are displayed in 16 levels of grayscale (including black & white). The flexible display is a laminate of flexible eink film and flexible printed electronics.
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If you update every hour, it will last for about 1 year. If you update every 10 minutes, it will last for almost 2 months. We use a non-replaceable rechargeable lithium polymer battery to minimize waste. Recharge the bracelet by plugging the supplied micro-usb cable into a USB charging port.
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No. The display is always on. If the battery runs out, it will show the most recent image you used until you recharge it.
The eink-based display is a bi-static display that only uses power when the display is updated, and maintains the image when power is off. Normally the display power is off which is why the Eyecatcher has such incredible battery life.
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Electrophoretic (commonly called e-ink) displays are like paper. If you can read print on paper, then you can see the display. So unless you can read in the dark, you probably can’t read the display in the dark either.
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Yes. The legibility is excellent in direct sunlight just like paper.
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The bracelet has built-in memory so it can show a slideshow of stored images without a phone. However if you want to show real-time information from the phone, then your phone needs to be nearby. Currently we support recent iPhones (4, 5 & 6) and iPads with BLE that run iOS7 or iOS8. We are working on supporting Android.
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The Eyecatcher bracelet is water resistant, so it should be fine with splashes when washing your hands or being exposed to light rain. It’s not 100% waterproof, so avoid immersion.
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Yes. Small, medium and large will fit most men and women.
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We will be shipping via the United States Postal Service First Class mail with delivery tracking confirmation and insurance. International shipments will be sent via International First Class with insurance. Domestic shipping is free, and international shipping is an additional $35.
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Measure your wrist circumference with a piece of string. The Small is for 165mm circumference wrists, Medium is for 180mm, and Large is for 200mm.
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Funding period
- (45 days)