This Simple Wearable Computer for Note-Taking on the Go Is Built From Off-the-Shelf Parts

Pseudonymous maker "tonystark29" has showcased just what's possible in the field of wearable computing if you stick with largely-unmodified off-the-shelf hardware — and a sling bag with a hole cut into it.

"I use it for taking notes while I am out for a walk," Stark explains of the wearable computing rig. "I use Obsidian.md which has the text scaled up so it is readable in my Vufine [head-up display]. I use Syncthing so that my notes stay the same on all my devices. The Twiddler takes some time to get used to; I'm starting to get faster at it, and have programmed my own key bindings into it for commonly used things like square brackets or tab."

The "Twiddler" is the wearable system's primary interface, a single-handed gadget from Tekgear that offers a combination keyboard and pointing device in a grippable design with strap. The Vufine+ wearable display offers a low-resolution head-up view of what's running on the main computer, a MeLE Quieter2Q Windows-based PC with an Intel Celeron J4125 processor and a generous 8GB of RAM.

For work where the resolution of the head-up display is limiting, Stark has added a compact 5" capacitive touchscreen display — made accessible through a window cut into the side of a sling bag which houses the hardware. Power, meanwhile, is provided by a 20,000mAh USB Type-C power bank. "The MeLE Quieter2Q has USB-C power in, but it is not power delivery certified," Stark notes, "it takes 12V 2A consistently. I had to trick the battery into outputting 12V by using a 12V trigger board."

Despite a natural dip in popularity when smartphones became a daily carry item, wearable computing is still very much an area of active development. Recently we've seen an old sock turned into a three-button input device with ultra-wideband (UWB) positioning capabilities, a wearable tension sensor built from string and pencil graphite, Matt Desmarais' "10-minute" PiGlass V2 project, the ultra-compact Pichuck, and an unusual take on the Fallout Pip-Boy. Stark's version has a key advantage, though: As it's built using off-the-shelf components, it's quick to build and easy to reproduce.

More details on the build are available in Stark's Reddit thread.