Sunscreen Reminder Hat

It’s easy to remember to put on sunscreen when you go out, but

not so easy to remember to reapply. This project uses a UV sen‐
sor to monitor how much UV you’ve been exposed to. You
could connect this sensor to your device with Connect IQ over a
wireless connection, not only to set reminders for when to put
on sunblock, but to monitor, record, and graph how much UV
you’ve been exposed to.
Brake Light Backpack
A wearable with Connect IQ technology can track a lot of
things about your bike ride; this project uses an accelerometer
to measure something you might not think to measure: when
you step on the brakes. You could adapt the logic in this exam‐
ple to add a new data field to count how often you brake on a
bicycle ride. You could then adapt the electronics from this
project to light up when you brake (again, you’d need to estab‐
lish a wireless connection between your watch and the FLORA).
NeoPixel Matrix Snowflake Sweater
Tacky holiday sweaters never go out of style, perhaps because
they’ve always been out of style. This project uses a smartphone
and a wireless connection to control a snowflake display on a
winter sweater. Not only could you use Connect IQ to build a
Watch App that controls the display, but you could map the dis‐
play’s behavior to your current heart rate if you so desired, puls‐
ing at a rate that corresponds to your actual, measured heart
rate.
These are the sort of places you end up when you think about the
smartwatch as an extension of you, rather than a “second screen” for
your smartphone. It starts right at your core, right at your heart, and
it can’t get any more personal than that.
A device that is so closely tied to what keeps you alive has a big
responsibility, and that’s to be true to you. But you can’t expect a lit‐
tle smartwatch to be human, not without some help. As the devel‐
oper, you’ve got the opportunity to inject humanity into the things
you build. Go create things that make people healthier, happier, and
more connected to one another.

58 | Chapter 5: Our Wearable, Connected Future