Learn How to Build an Arduino Smart Watch with Electronoobs

Designing and building your own smart watch sounds like a nearly impossible undertaking, right? You’re definitely going to need to create your own PCB, and it’s got to be small, meaning it will absolutely need SMD (Surface-Mount Device) components. If you want it to do anything useful, you’ll also need some programming skills. That’s all very overwhelming, but Electronoobs has a new guide that will make building an Arduino smart watch seem easy.

In his write-up, Electronoobs will teach you how to build a compact Arduino-compatible smart watch that packs a lot of features. Even if you’re not interested in a smart watch, these same concepts will translate well to designing all kinds of wearable devices. This device features a real-time clock, buzzer, LEDs, buttons, a Bluetooth module for communication, an I2C OLED display, a LiPo battery charging and protection circuit, and onboard CH340 chip for programming. It’s based on the same ATmega328 microcontroller found in many Arduinos and other development boards.

The detailed guide will walk you through everything you need to know to go from the design stage to final assembly. You’ll learn how to design a PCB in EasyEDA, and how to get the boards manufactured affordably through JLCPCB. Once you receive your boards and all of the necessary components, Electronoobs will teach you how to use SMD hot air soldering techniques to assemble the smart watch, test each component along the way, and program it.