wall mounted smart speaker.
smart speaker design using raspberry pi and google voice kit. spring 2018.
This project is a continuation of my series of Google AIY voice kit smart speakers, which are inspired by the functionalist design philosophy of purpose, utility, and lack of ornamentation. Drawing inspiration from the famous small radio and media player devices of Dieter Rams at Braun, the function of the speaker was put forefront.
This speaker is designed to be mounted on a wall, in order to create a more integrated "smart" environment/room. I've always liked the idea of devices that one can still physically manipulate upon the wall; a tactile and old-fashioned experience of having control of the room. This wall mounted speaker would have an auxiliary button layout in order to achieve that pleasing and intuitive experience of interacting with our environment. Of course, this speaker will still have the voice activated hot-word detection for the forward-thinking user. The wall mounting feature is to better integrate the speaker as an extension of the room, rather than an occupant. This can help allow the speaker to always be in the field of view of the user, an antithesis to the saying: "out of sight, out of mind," and can encourage users to personalize these speakers as wall accessories.
The design of the wall mounted speaker is a nod to the functionalist, Modernist style that emphasizes clear rectangular and cylindrical shapes with clearly defined expectations. The vertical grill motif meshes well with the chamfered speaker cut-out, and provides both protection to the speaker cone and reinforces the visual theme of the speaker grille that sound must pass through. This design was also inspired by the famed wall mounted Muji CD player designed by Naoto Fukasawa, where the compact CD player became a permanent fixture in our rooms without the cluttered hardware of larger sound systems. I wanted to bring that same thoughtfulness to current smart products, which can help solidify the aesthetic and functional purpose of these devices in our rooms.
The material choice is flexible, but preferably plastic in spirit of the Modernist style. Prototyping will take advantage of 3D printing solutions, but mass production can easily be achieved through injection-mold manufacturing methods. The extra space around the speaker cut-out is measured to house all the electronic components, which can be screwed via plastic mounts. The power cable needs to be around 6 ft in length to appropriately accommodate wall placement (but is shown truncated in the renders). With the advent of more accessible 3D printing, I hope designs like these can be manufactured by the user to fit their systems, and should be an opportunity to vary functionality and aesthetic motifs with this moddable voice kit.
This speaker is designed to be mounted on a wall, in order to create a more integrated "smart" environment/room. I've always liked the idea of devices that one can still physically manipulate upon the wall; a tactile and old-fashioned experience of having control of the room. This wall mounted speaker would have an auxiliary button layout in order to achieve that pleasing and intuitive experience of interacting with our environment. Of course, this speaker will still have the voice activated hot-word detection for the forward-thinking user. The wall mounting feature is to better integrate the speaker as an extension of the room, rather than an occupant. This can help allow the speaker to always be in the field of view of the user, an antithesis to the saying: "out of sight, out of mind," and can encourage users to personalize these speakers as wall accessories.
The design of the wall mounted speaker is a nod to the functionalist, Modernist style that emphasizes clear rectangular and cylindrical shapes with clearly defined expectations. The vertical grill motif meshes well with the chamfered speaker cut-out, and provides both protection to the speaker cone and reinforces the visual theme of the speaker grille that sound must pass through. This design was also inspired by the famed wall mounted Muji CD player designed by Naoto Fukasawa, where the compact CD player became a permanent fixture in our rooms without the cluttered hardware of larger sound systems. I wanted to bring that same thoughtfulness to current smart products, which can help solidify the aesthetic and functional purpose of these devices in our rooms.
The material choice is flexible, but preferably plastic in spirit of the Modernist style. Prototyping will take advantage of 3D printing solutions, but mass production can easily be achieved through injection-mold manufacturing methods. The extra space around the speaker cut-out is measured to house all the electronic components, which can be screwed via plastic mounts. The power cable needs to be around 6 ft in length to appropriately accommodate wall placement (but is shown truncated in the renders). With the advent of more accessible 3D printing, I hope designs like these can be manufactured by the user to fit their systems, and should be an opportunity to vary functionality and aesthetic motifs with this moddable voice kit.