Cobble Tlacaquiloni Bluetooth by Eric Wu

Cobble Tlacaquiloni Bluetooth by Eric Wu is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2025 Mahuizolli A' Design Award Tepoztli in Tepoztlachihualli ihuan Tepoztlaixcopinalli Tlachihchihualiztli Competition Category.

TepoztliTepoztlachihualli· 2025

Cobble Tlacaquiloni Bluetooth

by Eric Wu

Client: EW Design

Mahuizolli A' Design Award Tepoztli Winner in Tepoztlachihualli Category

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Verified Award Winner

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View at A' Design Award Press Release Award Badge

Colors

The Design

About Cobble Tlacaquiloni Bluetooth

Cobble ce tlacaquiloni Bluetooth in mopilos ipan tlapechtli, ihuan quipiya ce tlanextilli itech itlapan campa aca huelis motequipanoltiz. Nahui tepoztetl tlatzitzquiani (magnéticos) huelis motlalizque ipan miac neneuhcayotl ipan ce mahuiztli (grid). In ihcuac ce achtopa-icuiliuhqui neneuhcayotl motzonquixtia, tlacaquiloni quipehualtia ce tlacaquizti tlen ye oncatca, quen itlahtol yolcame noso cecec-tlacaquiztli (white noise) in mocuepcuepa. Cobble no tequiti quen ce yolqui tlacaquiloni Bluetooth, ipampa tlacaquiztli hualehua itech ce tlamachiotl tlen ompa mopohpoxtia. In tlaltlaliliztli tepoztetl quiilnamictia in ahuilnemiliztli Go, ihuan tlanotza ce tepitzin cahuitl ica cactimani ihuan yolo-nemiliztli. In achtopa-nezcayotl (prototipo) quimotequipanoltia ce caxitl huapalli, tepapalotl acrílico tlen ica xalli motlatzohtzoloh, ihuan pipitzahuac tlahuilli LED.

The Recognition

About the Mahuizolli A' Design Award Tepoztli

Cobble Tlacaquiloni Bluetooth ca in quicuic in Mahuizolli A' Design Award Tepoztli, tlamahuizoliztli tlen momaca in cualli dizayno in quitlalia in tlen monequi ipan tequitl ihuan tlachihualiztli in quimaca in cualli tlachihualli. In quicuicah Tepoztli quinextia in hueyi tlamatiliztli, toltecayotl ihuan ihuelitiliztli intlachihuanime. Ca quinequi in Cobble Tlacaquiloni Bluetooth ca tlazohtli, mahuiztic, yancuic ihuan motequiuhtia. Ni dizayno in quicuic Tepoztli quihuelitia in tlamatiliztli ihuan quipia chicahualiztli tlen tepoztli. Cobble Tlacaquiloni Bluetooth quicualtia in nemiliztli ihuan quihuelitia in cemanahuac ica cualli.

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