NASA announces $1,500 award to design smartwatch app for astronauts

WASHINGTON: NASA is offering a reward of $1,500 to anyone who can design a smartwatch app that will allow astronauts onboard the International Space Station to easily access information.

"We (NASA) are interested in the emerging world of smartwatch technology and are looking to leverage this technology to create a smartwatch app that could be helpful to astronauts," NASA said in a post on Freelancer website.

"The challenge is to design the general user interface for smartwatch applications for use on the International Space Station," the post said.

The examples of what should be included in the app include an agenda view of the crew's Timeline, which they currently view on an iPad or laptop; colour-coded alerts and warnings; communication status, which indicates whether the ISS is currently able to communicate with Earth; and timers that will allow astronauts to time their procedures and activities.

These functions should be able to direct an astronaut's attention to the information they need to increase efficiency, provide feedback for the astronaut's actions, and fit within a small, smartwatch-sized screen, 'CNET' reported.

The functions should be available within a single app, designed to run on the Samsung Gear 2.

Participants don't actually have to make the app. Instead, they have to design the app's user interface and present the finished work in the form of image files.