Instead of throwing one of those old smartwatches many of us have stowed in a desk draw away, why not turn it into the basis for a DIY gadget hack?
That seems to be the driving force behind this YouTube video, where an ingenious hacker turns a smartwatch into a smart ring.
Smartwatch fit for the trash
The 10-minute video, posted to the Gadget Industry YouTube channel, caught my attention because it reminded me of the social media trend of taking old cars, watches, and many other decayed items and returning them to glory through restoration.
I find these videos intriguing because the restorer displays skills I don’t have myself, and seeing something fit for the trash become something new again is satisfying. Gadget Industry’s old smartwatch isn’t fit for restoration, but it is ideal for re-purposing.
While the resulting smart ring doesn’t rival the Oura Ring for fit and finish, there are various special touches that make it fun, and with a bit more work, it’s entirely the kind of device I could see making its way to crowdfunding sites.
Taking it apart
Credit:Â Gadget Industry
The old smartwatch is disassembled, ready for the screen, battery, USB-C port, and parts of the circuit board to be re-used. The host creates his own ring body out of epoxy resin, cleverly shaped into a suitable form using various entirely non-technical tools.
The various components are attached to the screen and the custom body, which is where it’s worth looking closely at the construction. The 30mAh battery previously hidden inside the smartwatch’s body is adapted so it can be wrapped around the smart ring’s body, and is reattached in sequence.
Perhaps my favorite part of the build is the tiny screw which is attached under the screen. At first, it’s not obvious what it’ll be used for, but it soon becomes clear it’s now both an on/off button and a touch sensor for the screen, which will later be covered in epoxy resin. It’s not pretty, but it is clever.
The final result
Once all the components have been assembled, it’s put inside a pot of resin, and once it’s hardened, is shaped into the final device. Some careful polishing finishes the whole thing off.
The smart ring puts the old smartwatch’s screen on your finger, which, as you’d expect, makes it pretty big, but it’s shown connected to a phone using Bluetooth and receiving notifications. The whole device is even water-resistant.
Screens in smart rings aren’t common, and although this gadget is obviously a bit too big, a few tweaks and some miniaturization would make it far more usable. Whatever its real-world potential, it’s always cool to see what creatives can do with old tech that would otherwise be thrown away.