We’ve made big strides on the watch, which, for now, I’m calling Okobo* (aw-kubbo). After months of fine-tuning the user interface, developing the industrial design, designing the printed circuit board (PCB), and figuring out how to make the whole thing water and shock resistant, we are close to completion on our first two prototypes. Don, our electrical engineer, has put together the internal components for two watches, and he’s handed them off to Mat, the mechanical engineer, to confirm the dimensions and then assemble the units based on Jenna’s brilliant industrial design. Don is also translating Kentaro’s app from Swift to C, and then loading that onto the devices.
Jenna's mockup of her design.
The two PCBs (printed circuit boards) that will go into our first prototypes.
Soon we’ll provide a sneak peek at Kentaro’s app, which shows how the watch will work.
I’m thrilled to have reached this stage. The Okobo started as a germ of an idea over 25 years ago, and while I didn’t expect it to spring forth fully formed, like Athena from Zeus’ forehead, when I first launched this effort, neither did I expect it to be so involved. Along the way, I’ve been incredibly lucky to have been surrounded by a great team – Don, Jenna, Kentaro, and Mat – as well by my advisors – Mauricio Acosta, Liz Mefford, Travis Metz, Isabelle Moutaud, Henry Poydar, and Charles Smith. I’ve learned a ton about everything from branding to early-stage funding to user-interface design to industrial design, and I owe it to all these people.
We still have a long way to go, of course. Next up, we’ll go through several rounds of testing and development of the prototypes.
*My grandmother on my father’s side, Esther Peterson (née Eggersten), looked after her nephew, Bud, who called her Okobo.
From left to right: Esther (my grandmother) and her sister, Mimi, and brother, Mark. That’s Bud’s scrawl on the matte.