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W·02 · Case study · Wearable UI · 2025 · status: prototype exists

Trek Watch
91

A simple, familiar text user interface designed to operate without visual or cognitive overload, for hikers who don't want to fiddle with their wrist mid-trail.

Role
UI design · Interaction · Hardware prototyping
Inputs
Crown (push) + two buttons, no touch
Outputs
Monochrome LCD · piezo buzzer · single RGB LED
Principle
Repairable by design
Translucent Trek Watch hardware prototype on a workbench, exposed PCB and components visible, soldering iron and resistors nearby.
Fig. 01: the hardware prototype, mid-build. Repairable by design.

01 Interface overview

Trek uses a minimal TUI navigated with two push buttons and a crown that also functions as a button. The system runs on minimal compute, consumes ultra-low power, and remains fully user-customisable: without touch, without gestures, without staring at a screen full of icons.

Show the essentials; hide everything else until it's asked for.

02 Input

The crown

Positioned on the eastern edge at the equator of the case. Its diameter and groove profile are optimised for bare fingers or thick gloves. Clockwise and anti-clockwise rotations map to context-aware actions: menu navigation or value adjustment.

The crown protrudes just enough to be intentionally pressable, without becoming a structural failure point under impact or shear forces.

The buttons

Trek uses three physical inputs in total, each supporting three press types, which means nine instantly accessible actions:

Single press primary action Double press secondary function, e.g. stopwatch Press + hold tertiary function, e.g. flashlight, geo-pin

03 Input → action → output

Input crown / button Action rotate / press System TUI logic Output LCD / buzzer / LED

Every interaction resolves through the same short chain. Nothing hides more than one layer deep, because depth is expensive when your hands are cold and the light is failing.

04 Output

  • Monochrome LCD: high contrast, static-friendly, visible in direct sun.
  • Piezo buzzer: efficient audio feedback that survives wind noise.
  • Single RGB LED: minimal, intentional signalling rather than decoration.

05 UX philosophy

Every interaction must be discoverable, reversible, and usable under stress, motion or poor conditions. No gestures. No hidden states. No accidental inputs.

The interface disappears when it isn't needed and responds instantly when it is. More updates land here as the prototype matures.

▶ Try the demo

The TUI runs in your browser as an emulator of the 128×64 blue-OLED module, buttons included.

Open demo