HELP: Feedback for an eHealth wearable maker's kit

[adamfowleruk]

The Herald Project has opensource designs for eHealth wearables. We're often asked for a testbed or reference implementation. Some have asked this be a final, ready to use, 'Pro' unit. Others have asked for a hackable maker's kit, or an eHealth innovation kit.

We'd like YOU to help us design such a future wearable maker's kit. Please add comments on this issue and let us know if you'd like to make your own eHealth wearable. There are many things this could be used for:-

• Developing disease risk models (Like I do for COVID-19!)
• Monitoring your own heart rate, blood oxygenation, and skin temperature
• Monitor your physical activity - step counters, or GPS loggers
• Track how much UV light your skin is exposed to and advise about topping up sunscrean
• Build a healthy lifestyle watch with apps using a kit
• A STEM activity kit and lessons for school on medicine, science, maths, engineering and coding
• In a beacon format, create a Bluetooth MESH Internet of Things (IoT) network for your laboratory, house, or garden! For 'Where's my Syringe Pusher?' style apps in hospitals, or to design a 'Smart Hospital' device yourself!
• Many more!

Take a look at our existing v1 wearable designs in this repo, and explained at the below link, and provide us with feedback! https://heraldprox.io/applications/wearable

Please let us know:-

• What you'd use it for
• What features / sensors / extension boards you'd like to use
• How much you think you'd like to spend (realistically please! We're an impoverished opensource project!)
• How popular you think your idea would be and why

Thank you all for your help!

[adamfowleruk]

Other existing wearable images for the current V1 prototype wearable are here: https://github.com/theheraldproject/herald-hardware/tree/develop/wearable/images

[adamfowleruk]

One of our committers, Mishka @mishka-zz , has mocked up a future, larger, and slightly cheaper Maker's friendly wearable that he'll opensource the design for. You can see it on a video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-jRmQy3-sdE (Gotta love the banjo music on the video too! LOL). It's called a rayStack module.

It's a stackable design with a clickable connector. A screenshot of it's connector and its pinout is here: https://pbs.twimg.com/media/E1SLCF3X0AcSS3e?format=jpg

So Quite Raspberry Pi CM4 like in the connector allowing a variety of maker applications, but wearable and more extendable than the current V1 Herald wearable.

Pros of the new rayStack approach:-

• Slightly cheaper base board
• Stackable design without a fiddly connector
• Can swap out processor boards (E.g. Nordic's nRF52840/nRF5340 or Raspberry Pi 2040 or ESP boards
• More Maker-friendly
• More I/O ports (Herald v1 has I2C on the cable, but only 2 interrupt I/O lines spare - these are useful for low power operations, but not vital for a maker unit)
• Could support a screen with buttons, so better for interactive wearable apps

Cons:-

• No waterproof and dust proof case (Herald V1 uses a common and cheap wristband form factor and is waterproof and dust proof for use in remote areas and construction sites)
• Larger form factor
• Aimed squarely at maker's and prototypers
• Not teenager / health study participant proof