Hours are colors and the moon is the minutes. The TWELV time telling system breaks out of the confines of our LED and analog past and presents a new look to the time piece.
There’s always a better way, but sometimes the scale of the change required to do it differently is several orders of magnitude too big. We suspect that was why Professor Richard Conn Henry’s proposal of an unquestionably better calendar and time system was never seriously considered. Fortunately, Inventerprise’s new way to display time can co-exist with current time systems. The newly patented TWELV system breaks from centuries-old tradition, dispensing altogether with the use of any hour hand or hour digit. Instead, each individual hour of the day is represented solely by one of twelve unique colors.
There are some undeniable benefits for the new system though, as it requires a footprint less than half that of standard time format, the colors can be recognized correctly at great distances. It means that one clock beacon could be used as a clock in a city environment. Similarly, ambient lighting or a water fountain or a fishtank can become a clock … and the killer-app is that the footprint for the time display is MUCH smaller than conventional time displays either digital or analog, making it ideal for mobile phones, wearable audio players, and other mobile devices where display space is always at a premium. As for memorizing the colors, just start using the clock and it happens naturally; that’s just how the human brain works. The system is patented in the United States, but it’s public domain everywhere else.
Without doubt, the factor which is most likely to drive the adoption of the new TWELV time format is that it requires much less display monitor space than conventional formats. This smaller footprint makes TWELV ideal for use on mobile phones, portable consumer electronics, head-mounted displays, wristwatches, and other wearable computing and communications devices. The colors can also be correctly recognized from much greater distances than can individual numerals or clock hands
In some TWELV embodiments, the minute hand or digit is also eliminated. Instead, a moon serves as the minute indicator, waxing from a slender crescent at the beginning of an hour to a full orb at the end. This embodiment also allows virtually any other monochromatic image — such as a company logo, a silhouette, or a musical note — to serve as the minute indicator.
The first prototype of the moon-based Tjalsma embodiment of TWELV, designed by Christopher Tjalsma can now be seen here.
“The color-to-hour matrix for the current TIKR hybrid demo can be seen here,” inventor Shelton Harrison told Gizmag. “The Tjalsma (moon-based) prototype uses a different scheme, and I’m still waiting for the graphic that lays all twelve colors out side by side."
“We have not settled on a single color-to-hour matrix yet because we are gathering consumer feedback and working on color theory.
“We’ve put both prototypes on the web site and we’re getting great feedback as to what works, so we can come up with the best system – bear in mind that both systems and regular traditional time can all coexist.”
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