Black & White Clock concept reduces timekeeping to the bare essentials
By Joseph L. Flatley 
posted July 13th 2009 12:29PM
posted July 13th 2009 12:29PM
Call us jaded -- we've seen plenty of crazy clocks 'round here, but few we'd want in our apartment (even if they fit). And when we do find one that we like it's inevitably a concept. Case in point: Vadim Kibardin's Black & White Clock. Consisting of four OLED digits that contain a light sensor, this guy displays the time in black during the day, or in white at night. The designer is currently looking for a manufacturer to make these a reality, so if you happen to be in the biz, please hit the read link to embark on this fabulous adventure. Just make sure you send us a few review units -- you have our email address.
[Via Boing Boing]
[Via Boing Boing]
I like the e-ink idea, but what about at night? Can e-ink displays have backlighting? [e-ink noob]
E-ink is a great idea. No, they can't be backlight, but neither can piezo electricdisplays.
These things would drift out of sync quickly, the digits will not flip all at the same time.
Keeping in sync... hm, RFID? One of the elements is a clock (best thing if it's the seconds digit), via RFID or some other wireless tech.
Admittedly powering the thing will be difficult, unless they are using e-ink, but then it wouldn't glow at night. But still I like the idea a lot and hope to see it on my wall one day. What about the wireless power transmitting stuff? Like in the Palm Touchstone? One would have to be plugged in then, but other than that? Might bring up the price though.
They could add a power source where the colon would be in the time (how about a pipe character) that could house the RFID brains and master controls. This could be an expandable system with month/date/year as long as a power connection for each digit is designed.
How about having them all mount to a wireless power pad on the wall? You know, if price isn't an issue.
Very cool, wish I could purchase this.
I could probably read the clock at night in bed, finally. Without it being a glowing thing in my face. I like this. For a reasonable price.
I would imagine that each light module keeps time. If current time is 12:34, each module already knows the time but oviously can display only one digit. So the user has to setup which module will display which time digit (among 1, 2, 3, 4 for this example). The user just has to make sure the modules' time are synchronized, they don't have be connected or communicate to each other.
I can imagine the following happening:
08:59
08:00
09:00
09:01
How about have each sync with the atomic clock via radio?
Probably easier to have some sort of wireless built-in that you turn on only for setup. Then the digits can sync with each other. You can even tap the top or bottom of each digit to set the time and all the digits will update via their wireless link.
.
wouldn't have to be wireless
just have surface contacts
push the pieces together
it's a wired connection
they sync
you put them on the wall
.
with the accuracy of quartz timers
you might get that lag situation
for half a second
every couple of years?
.
Quartz timers are accurate to a few seconds a month. The digits would be flipping at noticeably different times within a few days.
You can get quartz timers at +/- 50ppm easily, and +/- 20ppm with some additional expense. There are 86,400 seconds IN A DAY. In two weeks, you have over 1,000,000 seconds. Thus two devices could be up to 40 seconds apart (one 20 seconds fast, one 20 seconds slow).
I looked, there are crystal oscillators that are accurate to +/-3ppm. That means the digits could be 6 seconds apart in two weeks.
What do you all think about voice controlled clocks?
I have a Moshi voice controlled clock. It's more of a novelty than anything else, but I like it.
how often do you control your clock?
awesome
This is great. Please let a manufacturer get his hands on this.
Is it all just one unit or are each of the pieces separate and they communicate over the air?
email address -> engadget@apple.com ?
that looks great
This would be great for those newfangled minimalistic designed rooms. I hope this comes to market and I can remember about it.
How are you going to remember something that hasn't happened yet?
EXACTLY WHAT KIND OF TIME BANDIT ARE YOU, SIR AND/OR MA'AM???
This is pretty sweet, save that you have to keep your blinds open for it to work.
Very nice!
I'd buy this in a hearbeat, as long as it costs
One problem I see with this:
I'm willing to bet that this clock would look like crap on anything other than a plain white wall.
Those number segments would have to be pretty transparent to look decent on a colored wall.
I'd definitely get this if it came out... for a reasonable price. $40 max?
Inverting it on the wall would be pretty cool...or trying to tell time in the dark with the opposite of what is lit. So like a hyphen would be a zero, and nothing would be an eight. Get it? ;-)
Ah, but the real question is... does it tell metric time?
http://zapatopi.net/metrictime/
That was a good read.
@kaibeezy
Are you learning haiku or something? You're doing it wrong....
I love the look of this... very clever! I hope a manufacturer comes forward!
WiFi? That would be cool. They can all communicate to each other so there should be one main light sensor.
Cool and clever BUT what if you have a black wall? I'd still want one though. :)
simplicity + design = plus. i want this on thinkgeek.com NOW.
I so want a few of those concept is pretty sweet ;-)
A digital clock is the inspiration for http://www.timeassociation.net/ which allows you to to share associations with the numbers on the clock.