Cobble Bluetooth garsiakalbis by Eric Wu

Cobble Bluetooth garsiakalbis by Eric Wu is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2025 Geležinis apdovanojimas A' Design Award in Vartojamoji elektronika Competition Category.

GeležinisVartojamoji elektronika· 2025

Cobble Bluetooth garsiakalbis

by Eric Wu

Client: EW Design

Geležinis apdovanojimas A' Design Award Winner in Vartojamoji elektronika Category

40,651

Verified Award Winner

Verify Award Status for #167221

View at A' Design Award Press Release Award Badge

Colors

The Design

About Cobble Bluetooth garsiakalbis

Cobble yra „Bluetooth“ lentyninis garsiakalbis su interaktyvia sąsaja viršutiniame paviršiuje. Keturi magnetiniai kaiščiai gali būti sudėliojami įvairiais raštais ant tinklelio. Kai sudėliojamas iš anksto nustatytas raštas, garsiakalbis paleidžia išsaugotą garso profilį, pavyzdžiui, gamtos garsų ar baltojo triukšmo ciklą. Cobble taip pat veikia kaip įprastas „Bluetooth“ garsiakalbis, atkuriantis garsą iš prijungto įrenginio. Kaiščių dėliojimas primena stalo žaidimą Go ir kviečia trumpai susikaupti ramybėje. Prototipas naudoja medinį korpusą, smėliapūte apdorotas akrilo plokštes ir LED šviesos juostas.

The Recognition

About the Geležinis apdovanojimas A' Design Award

Cobble Bluetooth garsiakalbis laimėjo Geležinį apdovanojimą A' Design Award, prestižinį pripažinimą, skiriamą geriems dizainams, atitinkantiems profesinius ir pramoninius reikalavimus, kurių tikimasi iš gerai suprojektuotų kūrinių. Geležies laureatai rodo didelius kūrėjų įgūdžius, aukštą specializaciją, ekspertinį supratimą ir kūrybinį gebėjimą. Tikimasi, kad Cobble Bluetooth garsiakalbis bus aukštai vertinamas, žavimas ir brangus kūrinys, praktiškas ir novatoriškas. Šis Geležiniu apdovanojimu įvertintas dizainas integruoja geriausias pramonės praktikas ir turi kompetentingas technines savybes, susietas su patirtimi ir talentu. Cobble Bluetooth garsiakalbis gerbiamas už kruopštumą ir sukurtas taip, kad gerintų gyvenimo kokybę ir padėtų padaryti pasaulį geresne vieta.

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