Alumni Spotlight - Luke Fromowitz (MIIPS '12)

Making watches "smart"

With new smartwatch technology gaining popularity, many people face a tough decision: should I retire my old watch and upgrade to “smart” technology, or stick with the look and feel I love? Integrated Innovation Institute's alumnus Luke Fromowitz has an answer: Chronos, a small device that gives your traditional watch smart capabilities by attaching to its back.

Chronos is a three-millimeter-thick disk that attaches to a watch using microsuction. The device, capable of fitness tracking for steps, distance, stairs, and active time, filters contacts, emails, and texts with different light patterns and vibrations for each notification. 

“[Chronos] allows you to filter what comes in, to be engaged with the world,” said Fromowitz, “rather than be distracted and overwhelmed by repeat notifications you see on many popular smart watches today.” 

The Integrated Innovation Experience

Fromowitz graduated in 2012 from the then Master of Product Development program (now the Master of Integrated Innovation for Products and Services (MIIPS) program). Before choosing MIIPS, he was a product desinger with Samsung.

His entrepreneurial spirit is why he chose the program at Carnegie Mellon and why he moved to Silicon Valley. "People have a pre-conceived notion that you go straight to Silicon Valley out of school and grind at a start-up," said Fromowitz. "But going through a program like the MPD program and getting some work experience can really help set up a framework for starting your own business."

Fromowitz noted the rewarding experience of seeing Chronos launch. "There’s a lot of anxiety in a product launch," he said. "You live, breath, and sleep the product. But we sold out of our early bird release in less than three hours."