Author Topic: MATRIX PowerWatch - TEG powered smart watch  (Read 49309 times)

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Offline madires

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Re: MATRIX PowerWatch - TEG powered smart watch
« Reply #100 on: November 19, 2016, 05:24:37 pm »
And again, another Batteroo. PhDs with years of experience, a lot of promises, a hyped certification, missing data, numbers not adding up and so on. But I think they'll ship their product - with the little nuisance of a missing charging connector, which you're going to need obviously. Better get a watch with a replaceable coin cell.
 

Offline edavid

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Re: MATRIX PowerWatch - TEG powered smart watch
« Reply #101 on: November 19, 2016, 05:48:16 pm »
And again, another Batteroo. PhDs with years of experience, a lot of promises, a hyped certification, missing data, numbers not adding up and so on.
50% Batteroo, 25% uBeam, 25% Energous  :)

Quote
But I think they'll ship their product...
I'm not sure, because it's difficult and expensive to manufacture a custom watch that looks like their rendered images.  Their $100K goal would not have covered the tooling, so were they planning to dip into their VC money?  Or make the watches by hand and lose money on each one?  I can't help thinking reality will set in sometime after the campaign ends.

« Last Edit: November 19, 2016, 05:51:20 pm by edavid »
 

Offline Koen

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Re: MATRIX PowerWatch - TEG powered smart watch
« Reply #102 on: November 19, 2016, 06:10:41 pm »
Could you ask Sharp to produce a custom round memory LCD for < 100k ?
 

Offline Magnets

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Re: MATRIX PowerWatch - TEG powered smart watch
« Reply #103 on: November 19, 2016, 10:48:58 pm »
After watching the eevblog video it's clear that the concept could work - i.e. keep the battery topped up, even if does seem completely over-engineered.

Not wanting to share the numbers really does make me sceptical.

I think it epitomises crowdfunding; it's crap that people don't need but really want.
 

Offline timb

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MATRIX PowerWatch - TEG powered smart watch
« Reply #104 on: November 19, 2016, 11:16:43 pm »
Dave, I’m not refusing, just giving it a lot of thought. You’re obviously a brilliant guy and I don’t want to get into a pissing match with you.

It’s hard to answer this question because how do I encapsulate the last five years of our lives, actually 13 years in my case, in a neat, tidied up answer to a complete stranger? Would a one sentence answer finally settle it? You’ve obviously already read the Engadget article, since you posted it earlier, that had the title, “The PowerWatch is a body heat-powered smartwatch that does very little.” This is our first generation smartwatch and we’re still learning how to improve it. Some people like it, and of course some don’t.

The PowerWatch generates more power than it consumes when it’s worn. But what happens when it’s taken off and left off for a long time? What do you do when you have enough room to add a 200 mAh battery? Do you choose a tiny supercap instead that barely supports the BLE TX, RX, syncing? 

Also we chose to come out of stealth with a commercial product, but in the big picture, we see this tech going into smart sensors for factories and industry, smart logistics, perhaps medical devices like hearing aids. Longer term, this technology, we hope, will help increase fuel efficiency for power plants or automobiles, which we hope would be good for the environment.

I guess what I’m trying to say is that we’re very passionate about thermoelectrics. The most inspiring photo ever captured in my opinion is “The Pale Blue Dot”, when Voyager 1 turned around and took a picture of Earth. Carl Sagan has a beautiful description of it. Voyager 1 is of course powered by a thermoelectric.

Directing this technology toward industrial sensors is a really good idea (people already doing this).  The nice thing here is the temp differentials are sometimes much higher. i.e. sensors mounting on engines, generators, presses, CNCs etc.  In buildings as well it's easier to get strong temp differentials on boilers, HVAC systems etc.

Starting with people is running before walking (dynamic, low and unpredictable temp differentials, etc, etc) so kudos for taking on the challenge :)

Exactly. A couple of years ago I was contracted to put together a prototype for an inexpensive, wireless, energy harvesting sensor for light industrial use, as part of a feasibility study. (As an aside, that was a nice project. I love when someone gives you absolute and complete creative control of a project they contract out, very rare those.)

I eventually settled on a TEG, as one of the uses was air quality monitoring for HVAC ducts. If placed at the outlet of a duct, a suitable TEG could generate enough power (based on the temperature differential) to take sensor readings and transmit them once every 10 minutes.

Unfortunately, one of the limiting factors was the price of the required TEG modules... Apparently, MATRIX's claim to fame is they've developed some sort of process to build TEGs out of Si, instead of the current more costly materials. I do hope they succeed on that front, as there are a lot of places where low cost TEGs could be useful!
« Last Edit: November 19, 2016, 11:18:57 pm by timb »
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Offline _Andrew_

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Re: MATRIX PowerWatch - TEG powered smart watch
« Reply #105 on: November 20, 2016, 06:48:51 am »
I still wonder if lambasting Matrix’s PowerWatch is a beneficial or detrimental
I would like to know more about the development of the uses of peltier powered devices in applications of industrial monitoring.
Within the applications industrial monitoring I work with the energy consumption of monitoring devices is inconsequential. I could see the advantage of having a number of self-powered (energy harvesting from waist heat) devices communicating back via RF to a central node. Instead of running for example RS485 and power all over the place.

So what if the PowerWatch appeals as a gimmick to those that are in to gimmicky watches and are happy to part with money for one if it helps with funding developing a technology.

You never know those that purchased one and tucked it away in the back of a draw in its original packaging in 40 years’ time they may be laughing all the way to the bank if it becomes one of those collectible novelty watches.   

I’m being a little devil’s >:D advocate.

The world is currently heading towards an energy crises and it is a lot more serious than people realize.
The present approach is currently treating everything in isolation.

Solar
Wave / tidal
Wind
Passive houses
Energy conservation
Ect......

It is easy to dismiss something because its contribution seems so insignificant but if considered as an overall combined approach can add up to something very big.

Now I said that the energy consumption of monitoring devices is inconsequential in the applications that I use them in. In isolation this most lightly true with the present deployment.

Saying that the monitoring requirements are getting more complex and sophisticated and long-term powering devices for purposes of monitoring can become an issue.
But (I know terrible bad to start with a but) waist as heat is something I often have in an excessive abundance at a significant differential between the surrounding ambient temperature and the radiated waist heat. 

So think about it consider most consumers including industrial monitoring devices that can be considered as a set and forget having little or no maintenance requirement, that just happen to obtain their power requirements from waist energy in the local environment, in isolation insignificant but multiply that a few million times.

So is people paying for a trinket watch to help move technology on is that such a bad thing?

This is where I hope Matrix (POKE) come back with a sensible response and maybe discuss a little bit about the industrial applications and the development work they have done with peltier devices.

Now bashing on batteriser I reckon is fair game. Main stream manufactures have pretty much cottoned on to using boost converters in there battery operated devices enabling them to be smaller, lighter and have less volume metric weight for shipping. Unless it happens to be a monkey’s arse that you are poking things up and magically being able to boost a life by 800%. Or some form of nonsense along those lines.
 

Offline madires

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Re: MATRIX PowerWatch - TEG powered smart watch
« Reply #106 on: November 20, 2016, 03:09:21 pm »
I don't think that the IGG campaign would fund any research, since the production of the watch will take all money. And if there's a break-through or some real progress in TEGs by the research of the project team, they wouldn't have much problem in finding investors or companies funding further research or product development. Sounds more like a marketing stunt.
 

Offline aandrew

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Re: MATRIX PowerWatch - TEG powered smart watch
« Reply #107 on: November 20, 2016, 04:24:05 pm »
waist energy harvesting

Finally, a way to shed that spare tire without exercise!

(sorry for the homonym poke, it's in good humour)
 

Offline Cerebus

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Re: MATRIX PowerWatch - TEG powered smart watch
« Reply #108 on: November 20, 2016, 05:38:19 pm »
waist energy harvesting

Finally, a way to shed that spare tire without exercise!

(sorry for the homonym poke, it's in good humour)

Homophone, not homonym. Panthera Tigris and Tiger are homonyms, they name the same thing; homophones sound the same but name different things.
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Offline edy

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Re: MATRIX PowerWatch - TEG powered smart watch
« Reply #109 on: January 11, 2017, 03:42:31 am »
Someone was looking for patents. I found a few linked to search terms for "thermoelectric" and "akram" who is Akram Boukai, PhD, CEO and Co-founder. They are found here:

https://www.google.com/patents/US9263662

https://www.google.com/patents/WO2009014985A3?cl=en

https://www.google.com/patents/US9209375

https://www.google.com/patents/US20140373888

https://www.google.com/patents/US20150228883

https://www.google.com/patents/US20160197259

Most of it is related to a company known as Silicium Energy, Inc., http://www.siliciumenergy.com/, which changed over to Matrix Industries.

There  is a lot of interesting stuff there. A google search for "Silicium Energy" shows the history of the company over the past at least 6 years. Some information is also found here:

http://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapId=142457561

The snapshot states:

Quote
Company Overview
Silicium Energy, Inc. develops silicon thermoelectrics for increased battery longevity for wearable electronics. Its silicon thermoelectrics are used for wearable devices, such as smart watches, fitness and consumer health monitors, wearable medical diagnostics, and implantable medical devices. The company was incorporated in 2011 and is based in Menlo Park, California.

Lots of interesting stuff:

http://www.xconomy.com/san-francisco/2016/05/12/silicium-energy-receives-3575290-new-round/

Quote
Silicium Energy Receives $3,575,290 New Round

This company is definitely on the "up and up". Looks like they are gaining traction in obtaining funding for better and greater things. I'm not sure how the watch ties in to all of this, but it appears to be just the beginning of a long string of thermally-powered low-energy devices they are going to be developing and marketing. As far as whether there is any practical advantage to using a TEG module or simply using a larger battery (or having the ability to charge), Dave's preliminary calculations show the TEG aspect has a minor benefit. Nevertheless, it sounds "cool" and when people ask you about your new fancy watch you can say it's powered off your wasted body heat.

Assuming most people cannot keep this device charged up enough to make it go on indefinitely, when the battery does finally drain completely, how easy is it to replace the battery or charge it up again? I think people would probably not care to change the battery every few years if it was easy to do so. The watch is a conversation starter, and that may be reason enough for many people to buy one and talk to people about it. But I agree that in principle, the marketing campaign behind the watch most certainly emphasizes the TEG aspect. If it is really mostly running off the internal battery and there is a net loss of charge daily that is just impractical to compensate for, and your watch dies in 2-3 years, then perhaps adding a thicker battery in the space where the TEG sits will more than make up for it (and maybe give you 5 years out of it). If the internal battery would last 2-3 years and the TEG helps you get 4-5 years out of it, that would be a different story.

Anyways, I like the watch, never mind the TEG aspect and whether it is a gimmick or not. However, I do believe having TEG definitely helped them get more media coverage and sell more watches. If they told backers that the TEG extends the battery life by 20% or something, I'm not as sure they would have built up that much excitement. Maybe, maybe not? I might still buy the watch even knowing the TEG adds marginally to the battery life, because I like the way it looks and I like the "coolness" factor of having it show me how much energy my wasted body heat is producing. But at least I was given the opportunity to make that decision after given an honest assessment. Certainly a better approach to be honest about it than to try to over-sell the TEG and have a bunch of puzzled backers in 2-3 years wondering why they need to change their battery when the claim at the time they bought it was that it would never run out.
« Last Edit: January 11, 2017, 03:47:46 am by edy »
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Offline _VWV_

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Re: MATRIX PowerWatch - TEG powered smart watch
« Reply #110 on: March 15, 2017, 02:34:39 am »
Hi everyone,

I perhaps it's just terminology, but why is a TEG-powered smartwatch a gimmick?

I gathered the discussion has arrived at a consensus that the supposed TEG would generate an excess over the net energy, required to run the watch.

I see some potential benefits that may justify a TEG in a smartwatch:

 - If it's able to keep the lithium cell at the perfect voltage, the cell should last... emm forever, so the smartwatch has the potential to work for tens of years (provided that other components don't fail).

 - No charging port = cheaper to build a water resistant watch, that will stay that way for it's lifetime.

 - No need to charge (so you can't forget to charge - happens to me all the time) / no need to replace a CRXXXX cell every XX months (no risk of braking water resistance in the process)

If they are able to pull of the X version with notifications, it would be a unique smartwatch on the market, combining basic (smart) functionality, 200M water resistance, potentially long lifespan (in tens of years), all at a reasonable price (a bit more expensive than pebble).

I would be happy to hear examples that tick all of those boxes.

The closest analog I know of is Vector Luna - similar hardware, 30 day battery life, a lot more expensive. It does have "apps" but they are  of very limited use.

On the other hand, it is not ideal that the team did not release ANY data at all, so a lot of their claims can't be verified at the moment. Take the accuracy of calorie count - if they use a complex model to describe the relationship between TEG generation and activity measured by movement sensor, such a setup has the potential to be more accurate than calculations solely based on activity alone.
Will it be that way, who knows.

Yet after having a far from open fund raising campaign, they managed to harvest a lot more cash, than originally planned (which by itself in not a proof of future success). Perhaps, not all backers understand that some features may not be as described, perhaps the watch will have teathing problems, perhaps they will save on production costs in order to have lots of profit, so that the watch would not even last a few years on average.

But calling the fundraising campaign an outright scam, seems horribly wrong to me. Lack of public raw data and a few PhDs on the team is just not enough of evidence to support such a claim.

Disclaimer:

I did preorder the X version (red flag number 1) of the watch and I have a PhD (red flag number 2, since there was some sarcasm on the PhD topic in the thread).

_VWV_
 

Offline EEVblog

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Re: MATRIX PowerWatch - TEG powered smart watch
« Reply #111 on: March 15, 2017, 02:58:01 am »
- No need to charge (so you can't forget to charge - happens to me all the time) / no need to replace a CRXXXX cell every XX months (no risk of braking water resistance in the process)

You missed the point I was making in that the functions of this TEG smart watch are possible without the TEG, and would get almost the shelf life of the battery anyway with the TEG.
Ergo, it's pointless.
 

Offline edavid

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Re: MATRIX PowerWatch - TEG powered smart watch
« Reply #112 on: March 15, 2017, 04:24:37 am »
I gathered the discussion has arrived at a consensus that the supposed TEG would generate an excess over the net energy, required to run the watch.

Absolutely not.  That seems highly questionable.  So your conclusions follow from a faulty premise.

 

Offline _VWV_

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Re: MATRIX PowerWatch - TEG powered smart watch
« Reply #113 on: March 15, 2017, 09:38:04 am »
You missed the point I was making in that the functions of this TEG smart watch are possible without the TEG, and would get almost the shelf life of the battery anyway with the TEG.
Ergo, it's pointless.

I understand the point you are trying to make, I just don't quite agree with it. I think, a battery that is not under deep charge - deep discharge stress has a significantly longer shelf life, compared to the time estimates for a CRXXXX powered watch you've mentioned above. That is my point. The watch has the potential to keep going for years and years without human intervention. A coin cell you would have to replace every XX months, which may not be a straightforward operation. Some watches require special tools to open and close them properly. Small workshops charge people to replace CR batteries, and sometime they do a very bad job - your watch may lose water tightness and the batteries they put in last 2x less. If I don't have to do that for, say 10 years, that is a pleasant feature, not a gimmick.
There is no proof the hardware of the watch will be of sufficient quality to work without problems for a long time, but that is at least a possibility brought in solely by on-board energy harvesting from a TEG.
I am not arguing that the same watch could have been powered off a battery, that you can recharge now and then. Yet still there are small but tangible benefit of having a TEG on-board, hence it's not a gimmick. You can argue that it's over engineered, that the problem that is being potentially solved is not worth it, but this argument would breach into subjective territory in my mind.

Absolutely not.  That seems highly questionable.  So your conclusions follow from a faulty premise.
Ok, so I misunderstood the thread. I came here to add my 2c because I saw the video, which sort of suggests that a decently engineered TEG would be able to provide the small amount of power, required to run the watch under all but most extreme conditions.  So my conclusions follow from the faulty video premise, that I don't see as faulty. It's a good video in my mind, bit too emotional (for my taste), but with data and calculations to talk about.
Sure it is that if a person lives in a 37 degree incubator, the watch is not going to work. I don't, so from the video I conclude that a TEG-powered watch will at the very very least brake even in my environment. And if it does, my conclusions stand.

_VWV_

EDIT: questionable != faulty
EDIT2: I assume no one argues that extra channel of info on calorie count in addition to accelerometer could potentially increase the accuracy of measurements - how is this a gimmick?
« Last Edit: March 15, 2017, 03:20:11 pm by _VWV_ »
 

Offline edavid

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Re: MATRIX PowerWatch - TEG powered smart watch
« Reply #114 on: March 15, 2017, 04:50:13 pm »
Absolutely not.  That seems highly questionable.  So your conclusions follow from a faulty premise.
Ok, so I misunderstood the thread. I came here to add my 2c because I saw the video, which sort of suggests that a decently engineered TEG would be able to provide the small amount of power, required to run the watch under all but most extreme conditions.  So my conclusions follow from the faulty video premise, that I don't see as faulty. It's a good video in my mind, bit too emotional (for my taste), but with data and calculations to talk about.
What data?  They have refused to provide data.

Quote
Sure it is that if a person lives in a 37 degree incubator, the watch is not going to work.
Or maybe if they just wear long sleeves?

Quote
EDIT2: I assume no one argues that extra channel of info on calorie count in addition to accelerometer could potentially increase the accuracy of measurements - how is this a gimmick?
No, people have been too busy arguing the energy harvesting side to even consider that.  To me, the calorie count stuff seems like pure BS, proof that the thing is a scam.  How can you make a valid biological measurement out of a temperature reading?  If that were really possible, they would make that into the product.  (But first they would publish papers about it.)

P.S. Do you have any connection with Matrix Industries?
« Last Edit: March 15, 2017, 04:53:47 pm by edavid »
 

Offline Cerebus

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Re: MATRIX PowerWatch - TEG powered smart watch
« Reply #115 on: March 15, 2017, 05:32:31 pm »
No, people have been too busy arguing the energy harvesting side to even consider that.  To me, the calorie count stuff seems like pure BS, proof that the thing is a scam. 

It's not a scam (which implies deliberate dishonesty), it's just overly optimistic and a bit gimmicky (To be fair, watches is an area where gimmicks are the norm, known in the watch trade as 'complications').

How can you make a valid biological measurement out of a temperature reading?

Eh? OK, the temperature readings you showed your mum when you were trying to bunk off school might have not been 'valid biological measurements' but body (core) temperature is a commonplace and very useful 'valid biological measurement' based on a temperature reading. Sweeping statements like yours above don't advance the argument. If you've got information that suggests that a heat loss measurement from the wrist would be of little use in predicting caloric consumption then provide reasoned arguments for that by all means, but please don't just throw out unthinking rubbish for the sake of gainsaying someone.

P.S. Do you have any connection with Matrix Industries?

Taking that tone is hardly helpful. If I was standing next to you in the pub that would have earned an "Oi! Hold on mate, that's going too far!".

P.S. Do you have any conflicting interests that could make us suspect that your arguments are merely thinly disguised self interest?

See what I mean?
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Offline edavid

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Re: MATRIX PowerWatch - TEG powered smart watch
« Reply #116 on: March 15, 2017, 09:39:50 pm »
How can you make a valid biological measurement out of a temperature reading?

Eh? OK, the temperature readings you showed your mum when you were trying to bunk off school might have not been 'valid biological measurements' but body (core) temperature is a commonplace and very useful 'valid biological measurement' based on a temperature reading. Sweeping statements like yours above don't advance the argument. If you've got information that suggests that a heat loss measurement from the wrist would be of little use in predicting caloric consumption then provide reasoned arguments for that by all means, but please don't just throw out unthinking rubbish for the sake of gainsaying someone.

How can they measure whole body heat loss based on an uncontrolled, single point temperature measurement?

And if they could, why isn't that the big news?  It would be much more important than any smartwatch improvement they could possibly make.

Throw out all those old fashioned calorimeters, just strap on a MATRIX PowerWatch instead!

Quote
P.S. Do you have any connection with Matrix Industries?

Taking that tone is hardly helpful. If I was standing next to you in the pub that would have earned an "Oi! Hold on mate, that's going too far!".

P.S. Do you have any conflicting interests that could make us suspect that your arguments are merely thinly disguised self interest?

See what I mean?

The difference is that his/her/its only 2 posts are defending this highly questionable campaign.  That would make anyone wonder.
« Last Edit: March 15, 2017, 09:43:44 pm by edavid »
 

Offline Cerebus

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Re: MATRIX PowerWatch - TEG powered smart watch
« Reply #117 on: March 15, 2017, 09:52:15 pm »
The difference is that his/her/its only 2 posts are defending this highly questionable campaign.  That would make anyone wonder.

No it wouldn't. He just asked some questions and made some observations. If what he's said seems to you like reasonable grounds to suspect some malign motive then you have a very strange view of the world.
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Offline _VWV_

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Re: MATRIX PowerWatch - TEG powered smart watch
« Reply #118 on: March 16, 2017, 10:12:19 am »
Ok, so I misunderstood the thread. I came here to add my 2c because I saw the video, which sort of suggests that a decently engineered TEG would be able to provide the small amount of power, required to run the watch under all but most extreme conditions.  So my conclusions follow from the faulty video premise, that I don't see as faulty. It's a good video in my mind, bit too emotional (for my taste), but with data and calculations to talk about.
What data?  They have refused to provide data.
I was referring to the video by the admin of this wonderful forum, I was referring to his measurements and calculations. The video demos, that the watch perhaps generates way more power than it consumes. Sure it is that the video does not feature the actual watch and sure it is the setup was tested under favourable conditions and sure it is that the calculations are best case scenario for the watch. But I nevertheless used this well done analysis to draw my conclusions precisely because there is not enough data available from the campaign managers, which was about the first thing I said in my first post.

Quote
Or maybe if they just wear long sleeves?
Wearing long sleeves should still generate some sort of gradient. Of course, if one wears a fur coat in a 37 degree room, then no chance, however I have different preferences in clothing. We don't know the power output of the TEG under a sleeve. They did not release data, so there you either trust the developers that they thought about it, or you don't and you then raise suspicions. And in case it's not self-evident raising suspicions != accusing public people of a scam.
Quote
EDIT2: I assume no one argues that extra channel of info on calorie count in addition to accelerometer could potentially increase the accuracy of measurements - how is this a gimmick?
No, people have been too busy arguing the energy harvesting side to even consider that.  To me, the calorie count stuff seems like pure BS, proof that the thing is a scam.  How can you make a valid biological measurement out of a temperature reading?  If that were really possible, they would make that into the product.  (But first they would publish papers about it.)
Well, I came here to discuss if the watch is a gimmick - which was the message of the video. Mind you, the admin suggests in his video, that the watch is a gimmick, not a scam, which sort of suggests that your opinion is not the only one out there.
Basically, you are telling me that if some stuff seems BS to you, that is a proof. May I inquire if you are an expert in the field of calorie measurement? Something tells me you are not an expert, though, because no expert would put out something that SEEMS as a proof for whatever. A valid biological measurement from temps? Well, that is how any system (including, but not limited to a living one) is measured. http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jan/04/health/la-he-calorie-counters4-2010jan04
Of course, the TEG would not cover the entire surface of skin, so it would only get a glimpse of what's happening. Could it be better than nothing? A good balance between practicality (TEG + accelerometer + a complex model to draw conclusions on the data they provide) and precision (a person locked in a huge calorimeter of room size, or wearing a gas analyser to monitor O2 consumption)?

I hope we all agree that calorie measurement based solely on accelerometer is imprecise, so it would be great to squeeze out a bit more precision. Having extra information on the amount of energy that a TEG generates can be helpful in this regard. Of course there are complications. The response to exercise is not immediate and is not linear, clothing and ambient temperature should be a factor as well. I am not saying, it would be easy for the team to get that extra precision out, in fact, I don't think they have the right expertise for that. However, extra way to measure whatever is not a gimmick, assuming that without the extra way the measurement is not precise enough. It is that way by definition - if extra ways to measure are required, than a measuring device (TEG in this case) is not a gimmick. Period.
Quote
P.S. Do you have any connection with Matrix Industries?
No, apart from what I indicated already. Do you think, if I bothered to write a disclaimer, I would have omitted that?

On a side note, do you understand that publicly calling an active public fundraising campaign a scam with no evidence whatsoever could be a criminal offence in some countries?

_VWV_
 

Offline donotdespisethesnake

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Re: MATRIX PowerWatch - TEG powered smart watch
« Reply #119 on: March 16, 2017, 12:39:12 pm »
Best not to feed the troll, methinks  :horse:
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Offline nidlaX

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Re: MATRIX PowerWatch - TEG powered smart watch
« Reply #120 on: November 10, 2017, 12:48:55 am »
A few points to bring up now that this watch is closer to shipping:

1. They appear to have gotten a mini endorsement from AD:
Anyone surprised that AD's marketing department is fully on-board with the "IoT" hypetrain?

2. A first look from Engadget is available: https://www.engadget.com/2017/11/09/matrix-powerwatch-hands-on-body-heat-power/

So it seems like the electronics design is valid, even if the application is not. At this point, I think it stands as a nice proof of concept for Matrix's TEG design expertise, although it was never pitched to the backers as such...
 

Offline _VWV_

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Re: MATRIX PowerWatch - TEG powered smart watch
« Reply #121 on: December 11, 2017, 12:09:21 am »
So it seems like the electronics design is valid, even if the application is not. At this point, I think it stands as a nice proof of concept for Matrix's TEG design expertise, although it was never pitched to the backers as such...

I agree it's a proof of marketability of the TEG technology for Matrix, and no, it was never sold like this to the backers. In fact Matrix has raised more than 17x10^6$ from investors link - that's like an order of magnitude more than what they raised from backers. If the powerwatch campaign works out without a major scandal, they will perhaps get even more from investors.

The backers were promised a watch with certain features - that's what they should get. Whether the success of the campaign will allow Matrix to raise more capital and expand into other markets should not really bother backers at all.

The worst that can happen to backers, like myself, is that once the watch is out and investors are happy, Matrix may stop supporting the watch. Oh, well, we were not promised a never ending support of the product.

I hope that Matrix will release SDK as promised, and I hope that the watch will be very well built so that it could last.. well.. forever. It does not need a battery to run any way  ;)

[sarcasm] And forgot to say, now it's absolutely clear the whole campaign is a total scam. 1.6 m$ from backers + 17 m$ from investors raised.. sorry, stolen of course. [/sarcasm]

_VWV_
 

Offline EEVblog

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Offline edy

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Re: MATRIX PowerWatch - TEG powered smart watch
« Reply #123 on: January 07, 2019, 01:50:59 am »
Now that we've resurrected this old thread... I'm curious to see what happened to the original Matrix Powerwatch and what reviews have come in and what testing has been done. Does anyone know? The Powerwatch is on sale for $139 on their website (PowerWatch Black OPs looks different for $169 but I assume the same), and then there is PowerWatch X for $199 which features notifications. Here is their website:

https://www.powerwatch.com/collections/powerwatch

Does anyone recall the original IndieGoGo campaign price? Was it a great deal cheaper? Was it worth the risk to save a few bucks (if any)? Has anyone tried the Android or iOS software and how good are the notifications? Is it worth getting the PowerWatch X versus a regular watch/Black OPs?

I found this review, it gave it 2/5 stars only.... does not instil confidence:

https://www.techradar.com/reviews/matrix-powerwatch-review
« Last Edit: January 08, 2019, 04:20:07 am by edy »
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Offline madires

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Re: MATRIX PowerWatch - TEG powered smart watch
« Reply #124 on: January 07, 2019, 10:32:25 am »
... and solar cell. From their indiegogo:
Quote
It is designed with MATRIX’s most advanced thermoelectric and solar technology that can convert your body heat and ambient light to power itself.

No blockchain feature? >:D
 


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