Cobble Callaire Bluetooth by Eric Wu is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2025 Duais Iarainn A' Design Award in Leictreonaic Tomhaltóirí Competition Category.

IarannLeictreonaic Tomhaltóirí· 2025

Cobble Callaire Bluetooth

by Eric Wu

Client: EW Design

Duais Iarainn A' Design Award Winner in Leictreonaic Tomhaltóirí 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 Callaire Bluetooth

Is callaire seilfleabhar Bluetooth é Cobble le comhéadan idirghníomhach ar an dromchla uachtarach. Is féidir ceithre bhiorán maighnéadach a chur i bpatrúin dhifriúla ar eangach. Nuair a bhíonn patrún réamhshocraithe curtha i gcrích, seinneann an callaire próifíl fuaime sábháilte, mar shampla lúb dúlra nó fuaim bhán. Feidhmíonn Cobble freisin mar challaire Bluetooth gnáth le haghaidh fuaime ó ghléas ceangailte. Cuireann leagan na mbioráin an cluiche cláir Go i gcuimhne dúinn agus tugann cuireadh do thréimhse ghairid smaointeachais chiúin. Úsáideann an fréamhshamhail cásáil adhmaid, painéil aicrileach gainmhshéidte agus stiallacha solais LED.

The Recognition

About the Duais Iarainn A' Design Award

Bhuaigh an dearadh Cobble Callaire Bluetooth Duais Iarainn A' Design Award, aitheantas gradamach a bhronntar ar dhea-dhearaí a chomhlíonann na riachtanais ghairmiúla agus thionsclaíocha a bhíonn á n-éileamh ó chruthuithe a ndearnadh go maith iad. Léiríonn buaiteoirí Iarainn scil mhór, speisialtóireacht ard, tuiscint saineolaí agus cumas cruthaitheach a gcruthaitheoirí. Táthar ag súil go mbeidh an dearadh Cobble Callaire Bluetooth ina chruthú a bhfuil an-mheas air, a n-ardaítear agus a ghráitear atá praiticiúil agus nuálach. Comhtháthaíonn an dearadh seo a bhuaigh Duais Iarainn A' Design Award na cleachtais is fearr sa tionscal agus tá saintréithe teicniúla inniúla aige nasctha le heolas agus le tallann. Tá meas ar an dearadh Cobble Callaire Bluetooth as a dhúthracht agus dearadh é chun feabhsuithe cáilíochta beatha a sholáthar a chabhraíonn leis an domhan a dhéanamh ina áit níos fearr.

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