Sandman Doppler: Design Isn’t Easy

The Sandman Doppler Alexa-enabled alarm clock (Image source: Palo Alto Innovation)

The fact that design isn’t easy may not strike experienced engineers as being hot news, but younger members of our profession may not have seen the memo. Even something that sounds simple, like an alarm clock, can pose unexpected challenges.

I know whereof I speak, because I've been waiting to take delivery of my new alarm clock for more than two years as I pen these words.

Way back in the mists of time (circa 2014), my old alarm clock died, so I invested in a cheap-and-cheerful "bargain" item that I picked up from Walmart for ~$10. This little scamp was "interesting" to say the least. First, it purported to offer a mind-boggling array of functions, but they were all accessed and controlled by three confusingly market buttons whose operation appeared to vary on a daily basis.

Guided by the manual, which was hand-crafted by someone with an unusual sense of humor, I managed to set the current time and an alarm time of 6:30 a.m., but then I lost the manual, after which I could never successfully manage to modify either of these values. The problem was exacerbated by the fact that the clock gained a couple of seconds each day, so its drift from reality grew increasingly pronounced over time. As a result, if I awoke in the middle of the night and wanted to check the time, I had to remember to apply the current offset.

So, you can only imagine my surprise and delight in June 2017 to hear about the then-forthcoming Sandman Doppler Kickstarter, which planned to be Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and Alexa-enabled. I could barely contain my excitement. As soon as this Kickstarter launched, I was at the front of the queue, bouncing up and down like Tigger squeaking, "Me, me, I want one!" (see Voice-Controlled Alarm Clock for the 21st Century and The Sandman's Coming to Take Me to the Land of Nod).

Now, the creators of the Sandman Doppler at Palo Alto Innovation are a great bunch. They also have a great sense of humor; for example, as it says on their "Our Story" page: "Palo Alto Innovation, is a team of designers, engineers, and businessmen who love gadgets and want to create something we are proud of. We are currently located in sunny Santa Clara, California because rent in Palo Alto is too expensive."

So, they call themselves "Palo Alto Innovation," but they are based somewhere else because it costs too much to rent space in Palo Alto -- you have to laugh.

As you can see in this video, the Sandman Doppler is going to be temptingly tasty (although this video was posted a year after the original Kickstarter, it very much reflects the original description).