The WatchMe (also known as “Watchus Cyclopus”) is a penguin-shaped charging pedestal that stands just over nine centimetres high and, with a downloadable app, transforms into an enduring little Minion-esque Cyclops creature when it charges an Apple watch. While the watch is charging the screen projects a fun eye graphic that looks around and blinks, creating an amusing “pet” element to the otherwise boring process of charging your technology.
The “face” of the WatchMe is a hole for the round magnetic charger. When you place an Apple Watch onto the head of the stand, its magnetic back attaches perfectly around the top of the charger.
The WatchMe is 100 per cent recyclable and comes in three different (but interchangeable) colours: white, black and yellow. Two single colour stands can be mixed and matched. For additional personality the stand also comes with a special WatchMe moustache, tie, or bowtie sticker.
“On the contrary of what you might think, my inspirations for this project didn’t come from the ‘Minions’ (maybe just for the colour). I wanted to create a little robot for years,” says Vivien Muller whose previous designs include the quirky solar powered electree.
Sadly, Muller’s WatchMe is currently just an animated gif because there is no way to override Apple’s automatic standby mode yet. This obstacle will severely hinder the Watchus Cyclopus cute factor if Apple deems the app “too simple” and doesn’t allow for this.
So far Muller has raised almost half of his required funding on Kickstarter and if he reaches his target of 20 000 euros by 20 August 2015, and if he can get Apple to fall in love with the little fella, then WatchMe could eliminate the tedium of waiting for its investors Apple watches to charge in December 2015.
