Cobble Ngwa Ọga Bluetooth by Eric Wu is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2025 Ihe Nrite A' Design Award nke Igwe in Nhazi Ngwá Dijitalụ na Eletronikị Competition Category.

IgweNgwá Eletronikị· 2025

Cobble Ngwa Ọga Bluetooth

by Eric Wu

Client: EW Design

Ihe Nrite A' Design Award nke Igwe Winner in Ngwá Eletronikị Category

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View at A' Design Award Press Release Award Badge

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The Design

About Cobble Ngwa Ọga Bluetooth

Cobble bụ ngwa ọga Bluetooth nke a na-edobe n'elu shelf, nke nwere ihu mmekọrịta n'elu ya. Enwere ike itinye ǹtụ magnet anọ n'ụdị dị iche iche n'elu gride. Mgbe echiche a kwadebere zuru oke, ngwa ọga ahụ na-akpọpụta profaịlụ ụda echekwara, dịka mkpọtụ okike ma ọ bụ ụda white noise na-agba okirikiri. Cobble na-arụkwa ọrụ dịka ngwa ọga Bluetooth nkịtị maka ụda si na ngwa ejikọtara ya. Ọ na-edobe ǹtụ ndị a na-echetara egwuregwu bọọdụ a na-akpọ Go, na-akpọkwa obere oge ntụgharị uche jụụ. Ihe atụ mbụ ejiri wuo Cobble bụ ihe mkpuchi osisi, mpempe akwa acrylic e ji ájá gbuo, na eriri ìhè LED.

The Recognition

About the Ihe Nrite A' Design Award nke Igwe

Cobble Ngwa Ọga Bluetooth meriri A' Design Award nke Igwe, nnabata dị ugwu e nyere design ndị dị mma nke na-emezu ihe ndị a chọrọ n'ọrụ na ụlọ ọrụ nke a na-atụ anya n'ihe e kere eke ndị e mere nke ọma. Ndị meriri na Igwe na-egosi nka buru ibu, ọkachamara dị elu, nghọta ọkachamara na ikike imepụta nke ndị kere ha. A na-atụ anya na Cobble Ngwa Ọga Bluetooth ga-abụ ihe e kere eke a na-asọpụrụ nke ukwuu, a na-eto na a hụrụ n'anya nke bụ ihe bara uru ma dị ọhụrụ. Design a meriri A' Design Award nke Igwe na-ejikọta ụzọ kacha mma nke ụlọ ọrụ ma nwee àgwà teknụzụ kwesịrị ekwesị jikọtara na ihe ọmụma na talent. A na-asọpụrụ Cobble Ngwa Ọga Bluetooth maka nlezianya ya ma e mere ya ka ọ nye mmeziwanye ndụ nke na-enyere aka ime ka ụwa bụrụ ebe ka mma.

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