RELATED APPLICATIONS AND CLAIM OF PRIORITY

[0001] This patent document claims priority to U.S. Patent Application No. 62/571,396, filed October 12, 2017, the disclosure of which is fully incorporated in its entirety into this document by reference.

BACKGROUND

[0002] Hybrid smartwatches combine the mechanical hands of classic watches and the electronics of smartwatches. Smartwatches suffer from several drawbacks as compared to classic watches. For example, smartwatches typically need to illuminate the display in order to allow a user to view information being displayed, such as, for example, the current time. The battery life of a smartwatch is often limited as compared to the battery life of a classic watch.

[0003] Positioning hands over a digital screen can result in additional pain points for a user, and more specifically, the ability to properly read message contents on the screen or any other displayed information that might be hidden by the hands themselves. Being able to control hands positioning depending on what is displayed on screen is therefore becoming an important consideration.

SUMMARY

[0004] In various embodiments, a hybrid smartwatch includes a digital display comprising an opening that extends from a bottom portion of the digital display to a top portion of the digital display, and one or more mechanical hands. Each mechanical hand is individually controlled by a motor that is positioned below the digital display, and each mechanical hand extends through the opening and is positioned between the digital display and a touch- sensitive screen. Each mechanical hand is rotatable about the digital display. The hybrid smartwatch includes a microcontroller and a computer-readable storage medium having one or more programming instructions that, when executed, cause the microcontroller to not cause information to be displayed on a portion of the digital display where the opening is located.

[0005] The computer-readable storage medium may include one or more programming instructions that, when executed, cause the microcontroller to receive one or more instructions to divide the digital display of the hybrid smartwatch into a plurality of portions, identify a current position of one or more mechanical hands of the hybrid smartwatch, determine a temporary position for each of the one or more mechanical hands in order to achieve the plurality of portions, cause each of the one or more mechanical hands to be positioned in its corresponding temporary position, and cause information to be displayed in one or more of the plurality of portions of the digital display.

[0006] The one or more programming instructions that, when executed, cause the microcontroller to receive one or more instructions to divide the digital display of the hybrid smartwatch into the plurality of portions may include one or more programming instructions that, when executed, cause the microcontroller to receive an instruction to display one or more of the following: a text message, an email message, or an alert.

[0007] The one or more programming instructions that, when executed, cause the microcontroller to determine a temporary position for each of the one or more mechanical hands may include one or more programming instructions that, when executed, cause the microcontroller to determine whether moving the one or more mechanical hands from the current position to a 3/45 position involves fewer rotations than moving the one or more mechanical hands from the current position to a 9/15 position, and in response to determining that moving the one or more mechanical hands from the current position to the 3/45 position involves fewer rotations, identify the 3/45 position as the temporary position, otherwise, identify the 9/15 position as the temporary position.

[0008] The one or more programming instructions that, when executed, cause the microcontroller to cause each of the one or more mechanical hands to be positioned in its corresponding temporary position may include one or more programming instructions that, when executed, cause the microcontroller to instruct a first motor that controls movement of a first mechanical hand to move the first mechanical hand to its corresponding temporary position, and instruct a second motor that controls movement of a second mechanical hand to move the second mechanical hand to its corresponding temporary position.

[0009] The one or more programming instructions that, when executed, cause the microcontroller to cause information to be displayed in one or more of the plurality of portions of the digital display may include one or more programming instructions that, when executed, cause the microcontroller to cause one or more of the following to be displayed in one or more of the plurality of portions of the digital display: a text message, an email message, or an alert.

[0010] The one or more programming instructions that, when executed, cause the microcontroller to cause information to be displayed in one or more of the plurality of portions of the digital display may include one or more programming instructions that, when executed, cause the microcontroller to not display information on the digital display where an opening is located. The one or more mechanical hands may extend through the opening. [0011] Optionally, the computer-readable storage medium may include one or more programming instructions that, when executed, cause the microcontroller to move the one or more mechanical hands to a position that indicates a current time.

[0012] The computer-readable storage medium may include one or more programming instructions that, when executed, cause the microcontroller to cause a Quick Response (QR) code to be displayed via the digital display, wherein the QR code is unique to the hybrid smartwatch and facilitates pairing with an electronic device.

[0013] In an embodiment, a method of moving one or more mechanical hands of a hybrid smartwatch may include receiving, by a microcontroller of a hybrid smartwatch, one or more instructions to divide a digital display of the hybrid smartwatch into a plurality of portions, identifying a current position of one or more mechanical hands of the hybrid smartwatch, determining a temporary position for each of the one or more mechanical hands in order to achieve the plurality of portions, causing each of the one or more mechanical hands to be positioned in its corresponding temporary position, and causing information to be displayed in one or more of the plurality of portions of the digital display.

[0014] Optionally, receiving one or more instructions to divide the digital display of the hybrid smartwatch into the plurality of portions may include receiving an instruction to display one or more of the following: a text message, an email message, or an alert.

[0015] Determining a temporary position for each of the one or more mechanical hands may include determining whether moving the one or more mechanical hands from the current position to a 3/45 position involves fewer rotations than moving the one or more mechanical hands from the current position to a 9/15 position, and in response to determining that moving the one or more mechanical hands from the current position to the 3/45 position involves fewer rotations, identifying the 3/45 position as the temporary position, otherwise, identifying the 9/15 position as the temporary position.

[0016] Causing each of the one or more mechanical hands to be positioned in its corresponding temporary position may include instructing a first motor that controls movement of a first mechanical hand to move the first mechanical hand to its corresponding temporary position, and instructing a second motor that controls movement of a second mechanical hand to move the second mechanical hand to its corresponding temporary position.

[0017] Causing information to be displayed in one or more of the plurality of portions of the digital display may include causing one or more of the following to be displayed in one or more of the plurality of portions of the digital display: a text message, an email message, or an alert.

[0018] Causing information to be displayed in one or more of the plurality of portions of the digital display may include not displaying information on the digital display where an opening is located, where the one or more mechanical hands extend through the opening.

[0019] Optionally, the method may include moving the one or more mechanical hands to a position that indicates a current time.

[0020] Optionally, the method may include displaying a Quick Response (QR) code to via the digital display, wherein the QR code is unique to the hybrid smartwatch and facilitates pairing with an electronic device.

[0021] In various embodiments, a method of moving one or more mechanical hands of a hybrid smartwatch may include receiving, by an electronic device in communication with a hybrid smartwatch, an indication that the hybrid smartwatch is to be calibrated, and capturing, by an image capture device in communication with the electronic device, an image of at least a portion of a digital display of the hybrid smartwatch. The at least a portion of the digital display includes one or more mechanical hands. The method includes performing image processing on the image to identify a current position associated with each of the one or more mechanical hands, determining, by the electronic device, a current actual time, and sending one or more instructions to the hybrid smartwatch. The one or more instructions include instructions to move the one or more mechanical hands such that the hybrid smartwatch displays the current actual time.

[0022] The method may include, in response to receiving the indication that the hybrid smartwatch is to be calibrated, sending the hybrid smartwatch an instruction to enter calibration mode. The hybrid smartwatch may be configured to display a position reference element via the digital display while in calibration mode.

[0023] Performing image processing on the image to identify the current position associated with each of the one or more mechanical hands may include determining a position of an end portion of each of the one or more mechanical hands, and determining a distance between each of the end portions and the position reference element.

[0024] Sending one or more instructions to the hybrid smartwatch may include, for each of the one or more mechanical hands, determining a distance between the current position of the mechanical hand a position of the mechanical hand corresponding to the actual current time.

[0025] Sending one or more instructions to the hybrid smartwatch may include sending one or more instructions to move the one or more mechanical hands the determined distance such that the hybrid smartwatch displays the current time. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0026] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a hybrid smartwatch.

[0027] FIG. 2 illustrates a diagram of example components of a hybrid smartwatch.

[0028] FIG. 3 illustrates various example views of a hybrid smartwatch body according to various embodiments.

[0029] FIG. 4 illustrates example overlapping positions of hour and minute hands according to various embodiments.

[0030] FIGS. 5A-5L illustrate example aligned positions of hour and minute hands according to various embodiments.

[0031] FIGS. 6 illustrate an example method of moving the hands of a hybrid smartwatch.

[0032] FIGS. 7A and 7B illustrate example hand positions according to various embodiments.

[0033] FIGS. 8-10 illustrate example digital displays according to various embodiments.

[0034] FIG. 11-15 illustrate example digital displays according to various embodiments.

[0035] FIG. 16 illustrates an example system.

[0036] FIG. 17 illustrates an example method of performing a calibration process.

[0037] FIG. 18 illustrates a block diagram of example hardware that may be used to contain or implement program instructions according to an embodiment.

[0038] FIG. 19 illustrates an example image of a hybrid smartwatch in calibration mode according to an embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0039] This disclosure is not limited to the particular systems, methodologies or protocols described, as these may vary. The terminology used in this description is for the purpose of describing the particular versions or embodiments, and is not intended to limit the scope.

[0040] As used in this document, the singular forms "a," "an," and "the" include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Unless defined otherwise, all technical and scientific terms used in this document have the same meanings as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art. As used in this document, the term "comprising" means "including, but not limited to."

[0041] This disclosure describes a hybrid smartwatch having one or more mechanical hands and a digital display. The digital display includes an opening through which the mechanical hands are positioned. The mechanical hands are operable to rotate above and about the digital display. The hybrid smartwatch causes various graphical user interfaces to be displayed via the digital display. To increase the amount of the digital display that is visible to a user, a hybrid smartwatch may reposition one or more of the mechanical hands. As described throughout this disclosure, a hybrid smartwatch may control movement of its mechanical hands in a manner that improves user experience and improves battery performance of the watch.

[0042] The terms "electronic device" or a "computing device" refer to a device that includes a processor and memory. Each device may have its own processor and/or memory, or the processor and/or memory may be shared with other devices as in a virtual machine or container arrangement. The memory may contain or receive programming instructions that, when executed by the processor, cause the electronic device to perform one or more operations according to the programming instructions. Examples of electronic devices include wearables, personal computers, servers (local or cloud-based), mainframes, virtual machines, containers, gaming systems, televisions, and mobile electronic devices such as smartphones, personal digital assistants, cameras, tablet computers, laptop computers, media players and the like. In a client- server arrangement, the client device and the server are each electronic devices, in which the server contains instructions and/or data that the client device accesses via one or more communications links in one or more communications networks. In a virtual machine arrangement, a server may be an electronic device, and each virtual machine or container may also be considered to be an electronic device. In the discussion below, a client device, server device, virtual machine or container may be referred to simply as a "device" for brevity.

[0043] A "hybrid smartwatch" refers to a wearable electronic device that has a digital display screen and one or more mechanical hands.

[0044] The terms "processor" and "processing device" refer to a hardware component of an electronic device that is configured to execute programming instructions. Except where specifically stated otherwise, the singular term "processor" or "processing device" is intended to include both single-processing device embodiments and embodiments in which multiple processing devices together or collectively perform a process.

[0045] The terms "memory," "memory device," "data store," "data storage facility," "computer-readable storage medium" and the like each refer to a non-transitory device on which computer-readable data, programming instructions or both are stored. Except where specifically stated otherwise, the terms "memory," "memory device," "data store," "data storage facility," "computer-readable storage medium" and the like are intended to include single device embodiments, embodiments in which multiple memory devices together or collectively store a set of data or instructions, as well as individual sectors within such devices.

[0046] FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a hybrid smartwatch 100 according to an embodiment. As illustrated by FIG. 1, a hybrid smartwatch includes a digital display 102 and one or more mechanical hands 104a, 104b. Although FIG. 1 illustrates a hybrid smartwatch having two mechanical hands, it is understood that fewer or additional mechanical hands may be used within the scope of this disclosure.

[0047] FIG. 2 illustrates a diagram of example components of a hybrid smartwatch according to an embodiment. As shown in FIG. 2, a hybrid smartwatch 200 includes a digital display 202, one or more mechanical hands 204a-N, a short-range communications transmitter and/or receiver 206 (such as, for example, Bluetooth transmitters/receivers), memory 208, one or more micro-computer units (MCUs) 210, or more micro motors 222, a vibration motor 224, one or more sensors 212, and/or various buttons, such as, for example, a crown 214. Examples of sensors 212 may include, without limitation, a heart rate monitor, one or more accelerometers, one or more gyroscopes and/or the like. A hybrid smartwatch may include a touch- sensitive screen 216, a touch controller 218 and/or a battery controller 220.

[0048] The digital display 202 may be a liquid crystal display. The digital display 202 may be positioned above a motherboard that includes one or more hardware components of the hybrid smartwatch such as, for example, the MCUs 210, micro motors 222, memory 208 and/or the like. The mechanical hands 204a-N need to be connected to the motherboard in order to be controlled by the micro motors 222. However, the hands 204a-N need to be positioned above the digital display 202 so that they can move and rotate against the backdrop of the digital display. FIGs. 3A-3F illustrates various views and components of an example hybrid smartwatch body according to various embodiments.

[0049] In order to accomplish this configuration, the digital display includes an opening through which the mechanical hands are positioned. The opening extends from a bottom portion of the digital display to a top portion of the digital display. One or more of the mechanical hands may be connected to the motherboard of the hybrid smartwatch, and may extend through the opening of the digital display so that they are positioned and are movable and rotatable about the digital display. The mechanical hands may be positioned between the digital display and the touch- sensitive screen.

[0050] In order to avoid problems displaying electronic information on a digital display with an opening, one or more microcontrollers of a hybrid smartwatch may be programmed with one or more programming instructions that instruct the microcontroller to ignore one or more pixels in the area of the opening. Without this programming, a microcontroller will try to cause information to be displayed by the pixels in the area of the opening which will result in an error. To avoid this situation, the microcontroller may be programmed with one or more instructions that instruct the microcontroller to ignore the opening when information is displayed or refreshed on the display. This way, the microcontroller's inability to display information in the area of the opening will not result in an error in the operation of the hybrid smartwatch.

[0051] Table 1 illustrates example specifications of a hybrid smartwatch according to various embodiments. It is understood that additional and/or alternate specifications, measurements or characteristics may be used within the scope of this disclosure. Material Stainless steel watch case

Watch band width and furnishings 22mm / 20 mm; Silicon, leather, carbon fiber, jean, NATO, metal and more in multiple colors

Battery type Regular model: Li-iOn 200mAh

Petite model: Li-iOn 180mAh

Display size and resolution Regular model: 1.22"; 240*240 pixels

Petite model: 1.05"; 240*240 pixels

Display type TFT (color touchscreen)

Sensors 3-axis accelerometer and optical heart rate sensor

Charging system Contact charging

Water resistance 5ATM

OS compatibility requirements Android 4.3 or iOS 8 or above, supports

Bluetooth 4.1 BLE

Table 1

[0052] Positioning the mechanical hands of a hybrid smartwatch in particular ways allows a user to see a maximum part of a display of the smartwatch. For example, positioning the hands in an aligned or overlapping position may increase the amount of a display that can be seen. Table 1 illustrates example alignment and overlapping values of hour and minute hands of a hybrid smartwatch that increase the amount of a display that can be viewed. FIG. 4 illustrates example overlapping positions of hour and minute hands corresponding to Table 1 according to an embodiment. FIGS. 5A and 5B illustrate example aligned positions of hour and minute hands corresponding to Table 2 according to an embodiment. Hour 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11

Min 0 5 11 16 22 27 33 38 44 49 55 60 overlap

Min 33 38 44 49 55 60 0 5 11 16 22 27 opposite

Table 2

[0053] If a hybrid smartwatch includes a seconds hand, then alignment of the hands at 00:00:00 and 06:00:00 are the only positions where the hands overlap or are in opposite positions.

[0054] FIG. 6 illustrates an example method of moving the hands of a hybrid smartwatch according to an embodiment. As shown by FIG. 6, a microcontroller of a hybrid smartwatch receives 600 one or more instructions to divide a display into portions using one or more of the mechanical hands. The display may be divided in such a way as to increase the amount of the display of the hybrid smartwatch that is visible. The instruction may be an instruction to display certain information via the display of the hybrid smartwatch. For example, a microcontroller may receive 600 an instruction to display a text message, an alert, an email message, and/or the like. In other embodiments, the one or more instructions to divide a display may be received in response to receiving input from a user, such as, for example, by pressing a button, turning a dial, or providing input via another mechanism of the hybrid smartwatch. As another example, a user may select a button, menu item, icon or other input element via a display of the hybrid smartwatch, or provide voice commands that are received by a microphone or other audio input device of a hybrid smartwatch. In another embodiment, one or more instructions to divide a display may be received in response to receiving information from an electronic device in communication with a hybrid smartwatch. [0055] In response to receiving 600 one or more instructions, the microcontroller may identify 602 a current position of the mechanical hands of the hybrid smartwatch. For example, the microcontroller may access a data store to identify 602 a current position of the mechanical hands. The microcontroller may determine 604 a temporary position for the mechanical hands. The temporary position may be one that allows more of the display screen of the hybrid smartwatch to be visible than the current position of the mechanical hands. For instance, a temporary position may be one that divides the display into two equally- sized portions. For example, to facilitate the reading experience and avoid having the hands covering text, the microcontroller may temporarily position the hands in the 3/45 or 9/15 position as illustrated in FIGS. 7A and 7B, respectively. For purposes of this disclosure, a "x/y" position refers to the hour mechanical hand pointing toward the "x" position of a watch face or display, while the minute hand points toward the "y" position of the watch face or display. This positioning results in dividing the display into two parts to facilitate the reading experience. Additional and/or alternate temporary positions may be used within the scope of this disclosure.

[0056] In an embodiment, the microcontroller may determine 604 a temporary position for the mechanical hands by determining the temporary position that will result in moving the mechanical hands from the current position with smallest rotation. For example, if the temporary position is 9/15 or 3/45 and the current position is 9/30, the microcontroller may determine the temporary position to be 9/15 because moving the hands from 9/30 to 9/15 involves a smaller rotation than moving the hands from 9/30 to 3/45. Choosing a temporary position that limits rotation saves battery power.

[0057] Referring back to FIG. 5, the microcontroller causes 606 the mechanical hands to be moved to the determined temporary position. The microcontroller causes 606 the mechanical hands to be moved by sending one or more instructions to one or more of the micro motors. For example, the microcontroller may send one or more instructions to the micro motor(s) that control movement of the hand(s) that need to be moved. Each hand is individually controlled by a micro motor, which allows each hand to have independent movement from each of the other hands. One or more of the micro motors may be positioned below the digital display.

[0058] In response to receiving the instructions from the microcontroller, the micro motor(s) move one or more hand(s) to the temporary position. The microcontroller may cause 608 information to be displayed via at least a portion of the display of the hybrid smartwatch. The portion of the display may be a portion not covered by the mechanical hands in the temporary position. For example, the portion of the display may be a portion above, below, to the left or to the right of the mechanical hands. The information may be a text message, an alert, an email message, a notification and/or the like.

[0059] After the information has been displayed, the microcontroller moves 610 the hand(s) back to a position indicative of the current time. For example, the information may be displayed for a certain period of time. As an example, a text message may be displayed for 20 seconds. After the 20 second period, the microcontroller may move the hand(s) back to a position indicative of the current time. As another example, a hybrid smartwatch may receive an email message which may be displayed for 10 seconds. After the email message is displayed for 10 seconds, the microcontroller may move the hand(s) back to a position indicative of the current time. A microcontroller may identify a current time by accessing a real-time clock of the hybrid smartwatch. Additional and/or alternative time periods may be used within the scope of this disclosure. [0060] In another example, a hybrid smartwatch may cause information to be displayed until it receives an indication that the user is finished viewing the information. For instance, a user may make a selection via a digital display, or may press a button, rotate a dial and/or the like to indicate that the user is finished viewing the information. In response to receiving this indication, the hybrid smartwatch causes one or more of the mechanical hands to move to reflect the current time.

[0061] In various embodiments, one or more mechanical hands of a hybrid smartwatch may be used as a selector for a display. For example, one or more actions, applications, settings and/or the like may be represented by an icon, symbol or other visual representation on the display of a hybrid smartwatch. For example, as illustrated by FIG. 8, applications that are accessible by a hybrid smartwatch are represented by circular icons located around the screen. A user can select a particular application by pressing the touch screen of the hybrid smartwatch.

[0062] One or more of the mechanical hands may be used to show which visual representation is selected. In response to receiving a selection of a visual representation by a user, a microcontroller of a hybrid smartwatch may automatically cause one or more of the hands of the hybrid smart watch to move to point to the visual representation that was selected. In an embodiment, one hand may be moved to point to the visual representation that was selected. In another embodiment, two or more of the hands may superimpose to make one and point in the direction of the visual representation that was selection. The microcontroller may cause the one or more hands to move back to a current time after informing a user of the visual representation that was selected.

[0063] In another embodiment, a user may select a visual representation by rotating the crown of the hybrid smartwatch until one or more of the hands points in the direction of the visual representation. This is illustrated in FIG. 9. A user may select the visual representation by pressing the crown.

[0064] As illustrated in FIG. 10, a hybrid smartwatch may prompt a user to provide input by displaying one or more menu items via the display. A menu item may be a visual representation of a button, a question, a text box, an icon, an image and/or the like. For instance, as illustrated by FIG. 9, a hybrid smartwatch may prompt a user to provide a YES / NO answer by displaying a YES icon and a NO icon. The user may press the YES or NO icon using the touch screen. Or the user may use the crown to move one or more of the hands toward the YES or NO icon, and then selecting the desired option by pressing the crown. Using one or more hands of a hybrid smartwatch as a selector instead of otherwise highlighting a visual representation helps to conserve battery power.

[0065] FIG. 11 illustrates an example hybrid smartwatch according to an embodiment. As illustrated by FIG. 11, the hybrid smartwatch 1100 includes a digital display 1102 and two mechanical hands 1104, 1106. A user may access a menu of available applications, features or other functionalities by swiping the digital display. For instance, a user may access a menu by swiping left on the digital display using a finger. In other embodiments, a user may access a menu in another way, such as, for example, by pressing one or more buttons of the hybrid smartwatch, turning one or more dials of the hybrid smartwatch and/or the like. FIG. 12 illustrates an example menu according to an embodiment.

[0066] A user may select an item from the menu via the touch- sensitive screen. For instance, a user may select the message application by pressing an icon 1200 of the menu. In response to receiving a selection, the hybrid smartwatch may cause information associated with the selected item to be displayed to a user. For instance, FIG. 13 illustrates a portion of an example text message 1300 that may be displayed in response to a user selecting icon 1200. As illustrated by FIG. 13, only a portion of the text message is displayed to the user. The user may view the entire message, or a larger portion of the message, by selecting the displayed portion.

[0067] In response to receiving a selection of the displayed portion, the hybrid smartwatch may cause the mechanical hands to move. As illustrated by FIG. 14, the hybrid smartwatch may cause the mechanical hands to move to approximately the 9/15 position. As such, a portion of the message is displayed above the mechanical hands, and a portion of the message is displayed below the mechanical hands. A user may indicate that the user is finished viewing the message. For example, a user may interact with the digital display such as, for example, by tapping the display or by selecting an indication from the display. As another example, a user may press a button on the hybrid smartwatch or turn a dial on the hybrid smartwatch to indicate that the user has finished viewing the message. In response to receiving this indication, the hybrid smartwatch may cause the mechanical hands to move to a position indicative of the current time, as illustrated by FIG. 15.

[0068] When the battery level of a hybrid smartwatch falls below a threshold value, the microcontroller of the hybrid smartwatch may instruct one or more of the hands to generate a visual and easily recognizable movement in order to visually inform the user of the low battery status. The hands may be returned to the current time position when complete.

[0069] In certain situations, a hybrid smartwatch may need to vertically separate a display into two parts. To achieve this configuration, a microcontroller may instruct one or more of the micro motors to place the hands into a 6/00 or 12/30 position, and then bring them back to a current time position when exiting this configuration. [0070] A hybrid smartwatch may provide time zone information for two different locations. The local time may be indicated and automatically adjusted by the hands of the hybrid smart watch. A second time zone may be visible on the display screen such as, for example, with a label of the name of the corresponding country, city or other jurisdiction.

[0071] The hour and minute information may be displayed by a hybrid smartwatch using one or more mechanical hands. A virtual seconds hand may be used to complement the hour and minute information. For instance, a hybrid smartwatch may cause a digital representation of a second hand to be displayed on a display of the hybrid smartwatch.

[0072] A hybrid smartwatch may provide a stopwatch menu that provides accurate information that combines hours/minutes/seconds and milliseconds information.

[0073] In various embodiments, one or more of the mechanical hands of a hybrid smartwatch may be backlit. For example, a virtual white hand may be displayed on the display of a hybrid smartwatch below one or more of the mechanical hands.

[0074] In an embodiment, a hybrid smartwatch may communicate with one or more electronic devices such as, for example, a mobile electronic device, a tablet device, a smart television and/or the like. FIG. 16 illustrates an example system according to an embodiment. As illustrated in FIG. 16, a system 1600 may include a hybrid smartwatch 1602 and one or more electronic devices 1604 in communication via a communication network 1606. A communication network 1606 may be a local area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a mobile or cellular communication network, an extranet, an intranet, the Internet and/or the like. In various embodiments, a hybrid smartwatch may communicate with an electronic device via short range communication such as, for example, near field communication (NFC), radio frequency identification (RFID), Bluetooth and/or the like. One or more electronic devices may include a short range communication receiver and/or transmitter such as, an RFID tag, a Bluetooth antenna, an NFC chip and/or the like.

[0075] In various embodiments, an electronic device 1604 may be a mobile electronic device such as, for example, a mobile phone, a tablet and/or the like. A mobile electronic device may include an application which may interface with a hybrid smartwatch. For instance, an application may receive information from a user and may cause an electronic device to send information to a hybrid smartwatch. Similarly, an application may receive information from a hybrid smartwatch and cause an electronic device to perform one or more actions such as, for example, displaying certain information to a user.

[0076] An electronic device may pair with a hybrid smartwatch over a short range communication network or via short range communication protocol such as, for example, Bluetooth. Pairing an electronic device to a hybrid smartwatch may enable communication between the devices. In various embodiments, an electronic device may be paired with a hybrid smartwatch using a Quick Response (QR) code. A hybrid smartwatch may display a QR code on its digital display. The QR code may be unique to a hybrid smartwatch. In an embodiment, a hybrid smartwatch may store its corresponding QR code and cause it to be displayed at certain times, such as, for example, during setup or configuration of the hybrid smartwatch. In other embodiments, a hybrid smartwatch may obtain a corresponding QR code from a remote source and cause it to be displayed on its digital display.

[0077] A scanner or reader of an electronic device (or one that is in communication with an electronic device) may scan or read the displayed QR code and use the information contained in the QR code to automatically pair the electronic device and the hybrid smartwatch. [0078] In various embodiments, an electronic device may be used to calibrate one or more mechanical hands of a smartwatch. FIG. 17 illustrates an example method of performing a calibration process according to an embodiment. As shown in FIG. 17, an electronic device may receive 1700 an indication from a user (such as via an application) that a smartwatch is to be calibrated. The indication may be a selection of a button or an icon, or receipt of one or more other commands, such as voice commands via a microphone of the electronic device.

[0079] In an embodiment, in response to receiving an indication from a user that a smartwatch is to be calibrated, an electronic device may send the hybrid smartwatch an instruction to enter calibration mode. In calibration mode, a hybrid smartwatch may cause a position reference element to be displayed on the digital display of the hybrid smartwatch. A position reference element may be a visual element such as, for example, a dot, a shape or other element. For instance, in some embodiments, a position reference element may be a dot 1900 as illustrated in FIG. 19. Additional and/or alternate position reference elements may be used within the scope of this disclosure.

[0080] A hybrid smartwatch may cause a position reference element to be displayed at a particular location of a digital display. For instance, a hybrid smartwatch may cause a position reference element to be displayed near a top portion of a digital display.

[0081] In various embodiments, in calibration mode, a hybrid smartwatch may clear its digital display other than the position reference element. For instance, a hybrid smartwatch may cause any icons, texts or other background elements to not be displayed on the digital display during calibration mode. [0082] In response to receiving 1700 the calibration indication, an electronic device may prompt 1702 a user to position at least a portion of a hybrid smartwatch within view of an image capture device, such as, for example, a camera of the electronic device.

[0083] The prompt may be text displayed to a user on a display device of the electronic device instructing the user to position at least a portion of the hybrid smartwatch in view of the image capture device. In certain embodiments, an electronic device may cause a guide to be displayed on an interface, such as an application interface, to show the area within which at least a portion of the hybrid smartwatch should be positioned. For instance, an electronic device may cause one or more lines to be displayed on a display device depicting an area 1902 within which at least a portion of a hybrid smartwatch should be positioned in view of the image capture device, such as, for example, as illustrated in FIG. 19.

[0084] Once at least a portion of a hybrid smartwatch is positioned within view of an image capture device of an electronic device, the electronic device may cause 1704 the image capture device to capture an image of the hybrid smartwatch. An electronic device may automatically cause 1704 an image capture device to capture an image of at least a portion of a hybrid smartwatch once the portion is positioned within sufficient range of the image capture device (e.g., within a required area, within a certain distance from the image capture device, and/or the like). As another example, an electronic device may cause 1704 an image capture device to capture an image of at least a portion of the hybrid smartwatch in response to receiving input from a user, such as, for example, a selection of a button or icon indicating that an image should be captured.

[0085] In various embodiments, an electronic device may detect 1706 a current position of one or more mechanical hands of the hybrid smartwatch. For example, an electronic device may perform one or more image processing techniques to detect 1706 a current position of an end portion or extremity of one or more of the mechanical hands. In an embodiment, an electronic device may determine 1708 a current time to which the hybrid smartwatch is set by determining a distance from the detected current position of one or more of the mechanical hands to the position reference element.

[0086] An electronic device may determine 1710 a current actual time. For instance, an electronic device may retrieve a current actual time from a clock of the electronic device. The electronic device may send to the hybrid smartwatch one or more instructions that cause the hybrid smartwatch to move its mechanical hands to a position indicative of the current time.

[0087] An electronic device may determine 1712, for each mechanical hand of a smartwatch, a distance between the current position of the hand and distance between a position representative of the determined current actual time for the hand. For example, an hour hand of a smart watch may be positioned at the "7" position on a display, but the current time may be in the 5 o'clock hour. An electronic device may determine a distance between the "7" position and the "5" position on the display.

[0088] In various embodiments, an electronic device may determine 1712 a distance between positions by retrieving a distance from a data store. For instance, an electronic device may include or may be in communication with a data store that stores distance information associated with various mechanical hand positions for various models of smartwatches. As display design may differ across different types or models of smartwatches, distances between positions may differ as well. A distance may refer to a unit of measurement such as for example, a millimeter. Alternatively, a distance may refer to a number of rotations or partial rotations of a mechanical hand across a display of a smartwatch. [0089] For instance, a minute hand of a smartwatch may rotate across sixty positions during any given hour. Each position may be considered a rotation for the minute hand. As such, if a minute hand is positioned on a "3" on a smartwatch display but should be positioned on a "6" to reflect the current time, the electronic device may determine that distance between the positions is three rotations forward.

[0090] In various embodiments, each possible movement of a mechanical hand between two positions may be associated with two distance values - one associated with moving the mechanical hand clockwise to the target location, and one associated with moving the mechanical hand counterclockwise to the target location. For instance, referring back to the example above, a distance between the "7" position and the "5" position for an hour hand may be two rotations counterclockwise, or ten rotations clockwise.

[0091] An electronic device may select the shortest distance measurement associated with a movement. Choosing a movement that limits the number of rotations saves battery power.

[0092] Referring back to FIG. 17, an electronic device may send 1714 a hybrid smartwatch one or more instructions instructing the smartwatch to move one or more of its mechanical hands one or more distances. For example, in the above example, the electronic device may send 1714 the hybrid smartwatch one or more instructions instructing the hybrid smartwatch to move its minute hand three rotations forward.

[0093] The hybrid smartwatch may receive 1716 the instructions, and may change 1718 the position of one or more of its mechanical hands based on the instructions.

[0094] This calibration process may facilitate a seamless, time efficient and user friendly way of calibrating the time of a hybrid smartwatch for a user. The calibration process may automatically be triggered upon setup of a hybrid smartwatch, or a user may be able to begin the process manually. In other embodiments, an electronic device may automatically begin the calibration process when it detects a time zone change.

[0095] FIG. 18 depicts a block diagram of hardware that may be included with various components of the systems described above. A bus 1800 serves as an information path interconnecting at least some other illustrated components of the hardware. Processor 1805 is a central processing device of the system, configured to perform calculations and logic operations required to execute a program. Processor 1805, alone or in conjunction with one or more of the other elements disclosed in FIG. 18, is an example of an electronic device, computing device or processor as such terms are used within this disclosure.

[0096] The system may include one or more memory devices 1810. Read-only memory (ROM) and random access memory (RAM) constitute examples of non-transitory computer- readable storage media. Other examples include firmware, hard drives, flash drives, solid state drives and the like. Programming instructions, data and modules may be included on a single memory device, or distributed across multiple memory devices. This document may interchangeably use the terms "computer-readable memory" "computer-readable storage media," "data storage facility" and "memory device" to refer to hardware that stores programming instructions and/or data. Unless specifically stated otherwise, each such term is intended to include single-device embodiments, multiple device embodiments in which various data and/or instructions are stored on a set of devices, and embodiments with multiple memory sectors of one or more devices.

[0097] A display interface 1830 may permit information to be displayed on a display device 1535 in visual, graphic or alphanumeric format. Communication with external devices may occur using various communication devices 1840, such as an antenna that can receive and transmit wireless signals, a transmitter and/or receiver, a short-range or near-field communication tag, or a communications port that is configured to accept a network cable for carrying data via electronic signals to one or more external devices. The communication device 1840 may be connected to a communications network, such as the Internet or an intranet. The hardware may also include a user interface sensor 1845, which includes one or more sensor devices that are configured to receive data from a user input device 1850 such as a keyboard, keypad, mouse, a joystick, a touch screen, a track pad, a remote control, an external pointing device, a light pen, a video input device and/or an audio input device. Examples of such sensors include keypad and touchscreen sensors.

[0098] The hardware may include one or more image capturing devices 1820 that include an image sensor and programming instructions configured to cause the image sensor to capture an image or sequence of images and save the image(s) to a memory device in the form of one or more digital data files.

[0099] The hardware also may include one or more motion sensors 1850, each of which is one or more sensing devices configured to capture data corresponding to motion of the device. Examples of motion sensors include gyroscopes or accelero meters.

[00100] The hardware also may include one or more location sensors 1855 such as a global positioning system (GPS) receiver that receives positional data from the external GPS network.

[00101] The hardware may also include one or more user verification systems

1860 such as, for example, a fingerprint scanner, a voice recognition system, and a retinal scanner. The hardware may include one or more transmitters and/or receivers 1875, such as, for example, an RFID tag, a Bluetooth antenna, an NFC chip and/or the like. [00102] The features and functions described above, as well as alternatives, may be combined into many other different systems or applications. Various alternatives, modifications, variations or improvements may be made by those skilled in the art, each of which is also intended to be encompassed by the disclosed embodiments.