Cobble Bluetooth Тонколона by Eric Wu is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2025 Желязна награда A' Design Award in Дизайн на цифрови и електронни устройства Competition Category.

ЖелязоПотребителска електроника· 2025

Cobble Bluetooth Тонколона

by Eric Wu

Client: EW Design

Желязна награда A' Design Award Winner in Потребителска електроника Category

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The Design

About Cobble Bluetooth Тонколона

Cobble е Bluetooth тонколона за рафт с интерактивен интерфейс на горната повърхност. Четири магнитни колчета могат да се поставят в различни комбинации върху решетка. Когато се завърши предварително зададен модел, тонколоната възпроизвежда запазен звуков профил, като например природен звук или цикъл на бял шум. Cobble функционира и като обикновена Bluetooth тонколона за възпроизвеждане на аудио от свързано устройство. Поставянето на колчетата напомня на настолната игра Го и предразполага към кратък момент на тихо съсредоточаване. Прототипът използва дървен корпус, пясъкоструени акрилни панели и LED светлинни ленти.

The Recognition

About the Желязна награда A' Design Award

Cobble Bluetooth Тонколона е носител на Желязната награда A' Design Award — престижно признание, присъждано на добри дизайни, които отговарят на професионалните и индустриалните изисквания, очаквани от добре проектирани творения. Желязните победители демонстрират голямо умение, висока специализация, експертно разбиране и творчески капацитет на своите създатели. Очаква се Cobble Bluetooth Тонколона да бъде високо ценено, възхищавано и обичано творение, което е практично и иновативно. Този дизайн, спечелил Желязната награда A' Design Award, интегрира най-добрите отраслови практики и притежава компетентни технически характеристики, свързани с ноу-хау и талант. Cobble Bluetooth Тонколона се радва на уважение заради щателността си и предлага подобрения в качеството на живот, които помагат светът да стане по-добро място.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties: Cobble is a speaker with an interactive interface at the top. The user has access to 4 pegs that they can place in various patterns. When preset patterns connect, the speaker plays a saved tone. The speaker is made with the concept of "inadvertent mindfulness." Studies have found that the simple action of concentrating on one's actions offer moments of respite. By placing pegs, much like how one places stones in a Go game, the user enjoys a moment of peace.
Dimensions & Packaging: 7 1/2" (width) * 7 5/16" (depth) * 2" (height)
Tags: Speaker, Office, Mindfulness, Audio, Music
Production Technology: The prototype was constructed with a wooden casing with a four-panel construction. Sand-blasted acrylic panels are used to diffuse the lighting from LED light strips. The prototype control panel was made from an Arduino nano and will be replaced with more efficient chips in mass production. We experimented with various sensing methods and settled on magnetic sensing with Hall effect sensors as they appeared to be the most reliable.
Design Challenge: The hardest part was figuring out the sweet spot of a big enough surface area and a compact enough footprint, the product being a shelf speaker after all. People wanted to engage with the interface but too much of it offered diminishing returns and research participants had more complaints of space constraints.
Research: User research was conducted in collaboration with co-working spaces. We tested hypotheses like the following:
- How much spacing and how big do people prefer the pegs to be
- How many rows and columns work the best, offering novelty and comfort without overloading the user
- What footprint works the best without sacrificing too much room for interaction
Inspiration: The design originated in a desire to question the prevalence of active mindfulness practices today. We have meditation apps, mindfulness sessions offered by corporations, and many more. While mindfulness is great, there are alternative activities that humans go to for similar purposes, without bearing the label of "mindfulness." Go, the Asian board game using stones, was a primary inspiration. What if we could have something built in that stimulates a sense of mindfulness, just like Go?
Project Duration: Duration: 6 months
Location: Rhode Island, United States
Operation Flow: The product behaves like a normal bluetooth speaker, so the user can connect to it with an end device and play whatever they want.

The unique interaction is that it can save and activate various sound profiles, which can be activated via placement of the magnetic pegs. The user would have to download a mobile app to change the default profiles, which are nature and white noise sound loops.
Team Members: Eric Wu
Image Credits: Photos: Eric Wu