LED-based clock that uses edge-lit plastic for its display. The hours are stacked atop each other in the center; on a ring around it, there are wedges of plastic that fade on over the course of the hour.
Use tricolor LEDs (in smart packages such as the Shiftbrite so I don’t have to hassle with multiplexing) to light the hours and edges; each hour has an associated color.
Needs a minimum of 16 LEDs (12 hours plus 4-segment ring); I’d like to do it with 12 segments in the ring.
The code should be dead simple to write; all it needs to do is set up a timer and slowly change the color table, and push it out to the LEDs. Oh and I guess there needs to be a way to set the time. I guess it could have a few buttons on the front, and use the main number display? Hmm. Hour+, hour-, minute+, minute-. Keep it simple. And easy to change for @!#$% Daylight Savings. When setting the minutes, flash the ring segments white, and use the 1-5 on the main display to show the exact minute count.
Quick crappy sketch:
