Cobble Bluetooth kõlar by Eric Wu is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2025 Rauaauhind A' Design Award in Digitaalsete ja elektrooniliste seadmete disain Competition Category.

RaudTarbeelektroonika· 2025

Cobble Bluetooth kõlar

by Eric Wu

Client: EW Design

Rauaauhind A' Design Award Winner in Tarbeelektroonika Category

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View at A' Design Award Press Release Award Badge

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The Design

About Cobble Bluetooth kõlar

Cobble on Bluetooth riiulikõlar, mille pealispinnal asub interaktiivne liides. Neli magnetilist tihvti saab paigutada erinevatesse mustritesse ruudustikul. Kui eelseadistatud muster on valmis, mängib kõlar salvestatud helipro fiili, näiteks looduse- või valge müra tsüklit. Cobble töötab ka tavalise Bluetooth kõlarina, edastades heli ühendatud seadmest. Tihvtide paigutamine meenutab lauamängu Go ning kutsub esile lühikese vaikse keskendumise hetke. Prototüübis on kasutatud puidust korpust, liivapritsi teel töödeldud akrüülpaneele ja LED-valgusribasid.

The Recognition

About the Rauaauhind A' Design Award

Cobble Bluetooth kõlar on Rauaauhinna A' Design Award võitja, prestiižikas tunnustus, mis antakse headele disainidele, mis vastavad professionaalsetele ja tööstuslikele nõuetele, mida oodatakse hästi disainitud töödelt. Raudvõitjad näitavad oma loojate suurt oskust, kõrget spetsialiseerumist, asjatundlikku mõistmist ja loomingulist võimekust. Cobble Bluetooth kõlar peaks olema kõrgelt hinnatud, imetletud ja armastatud looming, mis on praktiline ja uuenduslik. See Rauaauhinna A' Design Award võidudisain ühendab tööstuse parimaid tavasid ning tal on pädevad tehnilised omadused, mis on seotud oskusteabe ja andega. Cobble Bluetooth kõlar on austatud oma põhjalikkuse eest ning on loodud pakkuma elukvaliteedi parandusi, mis aitavad teha maailma paremaks paigaks.

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