Interesting concept for a timepiece

Using Universal Design to Create A Time Piece for Everyone

I have always been one of those people who needs to know what time it is. I had many watches throughout my childhood, and when I was no longer able to read a watch, I knew that a talking watch was not for me. I got my first braille watch in college, and when it died, I made sure to get another braille watch. Even though I love my braille watch, I can understand that it's not the best option for everyone. Unfortunately, the braille watch used to be the only option if you wanted to check the time without everyone knowing. This is where the Bradley time piece comes in. This project, inspired by a Paralympian that lost his sight in Afghanistan, has resulted in a time piece that will appeal to both the sighted and non-sighted. One of the inherent drawbacks to the braille watch is that it can be easy to move the hands. If you're checking the time, you don't want the hands to move because then it's no longer accurate. This was just one of the challenges that the team at Eone Time Pieces had to solve. Their solution was to eliminate the hands all together. The Bradley has two ball bearings that move around the face of the watch. The inner ball bearing tells the minute, and the outer ball bearing tells the hour. It even has a built in fail safe so that if you move the ball bearing while checking the time or if you're sleeve bumps it, you only have to shake your wrist to get it to go back to where it belongs. In July of last year, the Eone Time Pieces team had a Kickstarter campaign to help fund the production of The Bradley. Their goal was to raise just $40,000, but the project was so popular that they ended up raising almost 600 thousand dollars. Far surpassing their need, the company has now started accepting pre-orders for the watch. If you choose to pre-order The Bradley, you can get it for $50 less then what it will normally cost. I recently chatted with a friend who was one of the backers of the campaign and who just received his Bradley. He is very pleased so far with how easy it is to tell the time and how easy it was to set up. He was also impressed with the fact that there are braille instructions for how to use the Bradley included in his box. To learn more about the Bradley and how to pre-order your own, visit the Eone Time Pieces website: http://www.eone-time.com.