Pebble Calorie Counting WatchApp

Inspiration

We wanted to work with unfamiliar technology in order to challenge our skills in learning and team management.

What it does

It allows users of Pebble watches to conveniently track their daily calorie intake on the fly. For experienced fitness enthusiasts, it offers a streamlined experience for their busy lives. The app can record your daily calorie intake, calculate your average number of calories consumed over the course of a period, and allow you to set your maximum amount of calories per day. For those with weird work hours, it allows changing the time of the daily reset timer.

How I built it

Our goal was to design a simple, but effective Pebble watchapp that a wide variety of users can incorporate into their daily lives. We brainstormed features that we believed would be easy to use and pickup. We utilized javascript as our main programming language, CloudPebble, an online IDE built for Pebble app development, and Pebble.js, the API for programming Pebble apps in javascript.

Challenges I ran into

Our entire team was new to programming hardware applications and more than half of us were new to programming in javascript. It was difficult to learn javascript and produce the result that we desired. Also, much of the Pebble documentation was not as thorough as it could have been. Pebble only recently began developing the tools for developing apps in javascript rather than C, so it was a challenge to put together the scarce information that was available.

Accomplishments that I'm proud of

We managed to create a fully functional app and knocked off most of the features that we had wanted to include. Also, many of the obstacles we encountered in programming with javascript and using Pebble.js were overcome due to our patience and persistence.

What I learned

We learned that producing software for hardware can be a very challenging task, especially if there is a lack of developers for that hardware. We learned a little bit about the nuances of javascript and its benefits and downsides compared to other languages. We learned to adapt the different platforms and conditions that we were limited to.

What's next for Pebble Calorie Counting WatchApp

We would like to be able to allow users more freedom in customization of notifications. We want to provide more phone integration so that users can access more information about their calorie intake. We'd like to eventually expand to different platforms such as other smartwatches.