Cobble Bluetooth-kaiutin by Eric Wu is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2025 Rautapalkinto A' Design Award in Kulutuselektroniikka Competition Category.

RautaKulutuselektroniikka· 2025

Cobble Bluetooth-kaiutin

by Eric Wu

Client: EW Design

Rautapalkinto A' Design Award Winner in Kulutuselektroniikka Category

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View at A' Design Award Press Release Award Badge

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The Design

About Cobble Bluetooth-kaiutin

Cobble on Bluetooth-hyllykaiutin, jonka yläpinnalla on interaktiivinen käyttöliittymä. Neljä magneettista nappulaa voidaan asettaa ruudukkoon eri kuvioihin. Kun ennalta määritetty kuvio on valmis, kaiutin toistaa tallennetun äänimaiseman, kuten luonnon äänen tai valkoisen kohinan silmukan. Cobble toimii myös tavallisena Bluetooth-kaiuttimena toistaen ääntä yhdistetystä laitteesta. Nappuloiden asettelu tuo mieleen go-lautapelin ja kutsuu hetken rauhalliseen keskittymiseen. Prototyyppi käyttää puukuorta, hiekkapuhallettuja akryylipaneeleja ja LED-valonauhoja.

The Recognition

About the Rautapalkinto A' Design Award

Cobble Bluetooth-kaiutin on Rautapalkinnon A' Design Award -voittaja, arvostettu tunnustus, joka myönnetään hyville designeille, jotka täyttävät hyvin suunnitelluilta luomuksilta odotetut ammatilliset ja teollisuuden vaatimukset. Rautavoittajat osoittavat tekijöidensä suurta taitoa, korkeaa erikoistumista, asiantuntevaa ymmärrystä ja luovaa kapasiteettia. Cobble Bluetooth-kaiutin:n odotetaan olevan korkeassa arvossa pidetty, ihailtu ja rakastettu luomus, joka on käytännöllinen ja innovatiivinen. Tämä Rautapalkinnon A' Design Award -voittajadesign yhdistää alan parhaita käytäntöjä, ja sillä on pätevät tekniset ominaisuudet, jotka yhdistyvät osaamiseen ja lahjakkuuteen. Cobble Bluetooth-kaiutin:a arvostetaan sen perusteellisuudesta, ja se on suunniteltu tarjoamaan elämänlaadun parannuksia, jotka auttavat tekemään maailmasta paremman paikan.

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