Cobble Altaveu Bluetooth by Eric Wu is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2025 A' Design Award de Ferro in Electrònica de Consum Competition Category.

FerroElectrònica de Consum· 2025

Cobble Altaveu Bluetooth

by Eric Wu

Client: EW Design

A' Design Award de Ferro Winner in Electrònica de Consum Category

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Verified Award Winner

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View at A' Design Award Press Release Award Badge

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The Design

About Cobble Altaveu Bluetooth

Cobble és un altaveu Bluetooth de prestatgeria amb una interfície interactiva a la superfície superior. Quatre peces magnètiques es poden col·locar en diferents patrons sobre una graella. Quan es completa un patró preestablert, l'altaveu reprodueix un perfil de so desat, com ara un bucle de sons de la natura o de soroll blanc. Cobble també funciona com un altaveu Bluetooth normal per a l'àudio d'un dispositiu connectat. La col·locació de les peces recorda el joc de taula Go i convida a un breu moment de concentració tranquil·la. El prototip utilitza una carcassa de fusta, plafons d'acrílic esmerilat amb sorra i tires de llums LED.

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award de Ferro

Cobble Altaveu Bluetooth és un guanyador del guardó A' Design Award de Ferro, un reconeixement prestigiós concedit a bons dissenys que compleixen els requisits professionals i industrials esperats de creacions ben dissenyades. Els guanyadors de Ferro demostren una gran habilitat, una alta especialització, una comprensió experta i la capacitat creativa dels seus creadors. Es preveu que Cobble Altaveu Bluetooth sigui una creació molt apreciada, admirada i estimada que és pràctica i innovadora. Aquest disseny guanyador del guardó A' Design Award de Ferro integra les millors pràctiques del sector i té característiques tècniques competents lligades al coneixement i al talent. Cobble Altaveu Bluetooth és respectat per la seva minuciositat i està pensat per oferir millores en la qualitat de vida que ajuden a fer del món un lloc millor.

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