Cobble Bluetooth Uyarichiq by Eric Wu is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2025 A' Design Award Fierru Premiu in Iñikik Llamkana Kamay Competition Category.

FierruRantikuk Iñikik· 2025

Cobble Bluetooth Uyarichiq

by Eric Wu

Client: EW Design

A' Design Award Fierru Premiu Winner in Rantikuk Iñikik Category

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Verified Award Winner

Verify Award Status for #167221

View at A' Design Award Press Release Award Badge

Colors

The Design

About Cobble Bluetooth Uyarichiq

Cobble nisqaqa Bluetooth uyarichiqmi, patanpi t'ikrasqa (interactive) uyaywan kashan. Tawa imán tikakuna (magnetic pegs) huk cuadrículapi askha formakunapi churay atikun. Huk ñawpaqmanta churasqa formata tukuchisqa kaqtinqa, uyarichiqqa huk waqaychasqa unanchasqa uyariyta (sound profile) tocan, hinaspa pachamama kaq kunkakunata utaq "white noise" nisqata muyuchispa. Cobble-qa ancha kawsayninpiqa huk yuraq Bluetooth uyarichiq hina llamk'an, hukpi tinkusqa kaqmanta uyarikunata apachimuspa. Tikakuna churayqa "Go" pukllayta yuyarichin, chaymi huk pisi tiempo ch'ulla, sumaq yuyaykuyta wakichin. Kay ñawpaq unancha ruwasqaqa (prototype) k'aspimanta wasichasqa (casing), q'illay-kutasqa arinawan (sand-blasted acrylic panels) ima, LED nisqa k'anchay t'inpiykunawanpas (light strips) ruwasqa kashan.

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award Fierru Premiu

Cobble Bluetooth Uyarichiq A' Design Award Fierru Premiu mishak kan, yupaychay, kayta ruray yachak shinallatak industriapak mañaykunata paktachik alli diseñukunaman kun. Fierru mishak kashkakunaka hatun ruray ushayta, hanak yachayta, yachak yuyayta shinallatak ruray kamachiyta rikuchinku. Cobble Bluetooth Uyarichiq sinchi yupaychashka, kuyashka shinallatak kuyashka ruray, ruranapak alli shinallatak mushuk yuyaypi kanata munanku. Kay Fierru Premiu japishka diseñuka industriapak ashtawan alli ruraykunata tantachin shinallatak yachaywan shinallatak ushaywan tantashka tekniku ushayta charin. Sinchi ruraymanta Cobble Bluetooth Uyarichiq yupaychashka kan shinallatak kawsayta alliyachik ruraykunata kuypak ruray kan, pachata ashtawan alli kachun ruran.

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