Clocks are certainly interesting devices for people interested in hardware, starting from early in human history. As the years have progressed, some of the most advanced human devices had to do with measuring this unseen fourth dimension. However, with the advent of cell phones, accurate timekeeping on a watch or clock is not as important as it once was.
On the other hand, this makes creative designs that much more appealing. At the very least, it gives those of us that generally make useless devices for our own entertainment something to make that others will understand.
One of the coolest timekeeping devices I’ve seen lately is this “holo clock.” It is literally a clock that is hollow on the inside, and driven as a sort of self-supporting gear set. It uses an ATtiny chip to pulse the motor once per minute to advance its timekeeping rings. Though this likely works well enough, the code is written in the Arduino IDE, so if you wanted to repurpose this device for something else, it would certainly be possible. Internet speedometer? Automotive speedometer? There must be more ridiculous repurposings than these.
Be sure to check out the excellent video below to see how it goes together:
If you’re looking for a unique clock, but this just doesn’t quite suit you, a search for “clock” on Tindie yields a huge number of interesting results!
