This head-turning speaker is a piece of tech art that pays tribute to space exploration

The popularity of wireless speakers has made them a staple in many homes, and that, in turn, has shaped the way these products are being designed. To match many interior motifs, the majority of wireless speakers take on more minimalist and low-key aesthetics that make them blend with their surroundings. Unfortunately, that has also made many of these everyday items less memorable and distinctive, as if they’ve been stripped of any sense of identity. That’s an almost ironic situation for a device that is supposed to inject life and vibrancy into living spaces. Daring to go against the tides, this one-of-a-kind speaker is designed to make its presence not only heard but also seen, taking inspiration from mankind’s own daring ambitions to break free of the Earth’s gravity and reach for the stars.

Designer: Ken Chen

Click Here to Buy Now: $619 $1089 ($470 off). Hurry, Flash Sale ends soon!

If you look at most wireless speakers today, they most often come wrapped in very minimalist designs and shapes. Some, such as those coming from luxury brands, do exude a sense of luxury through their materials, but the majority of these audio accessories might come off as almost bland and too identical to each other. While there’s definitely nothing wrong with minimalism, there seems to be a misconception that it’s the be-all and end-all of design, which couldn’t be farther from the truth. The Nebula tech art speaker is a glowing example of that, bringing character to the speaker in order to bring your music to life in ways you will never forget.

Inspired by NASA.

Right off the bat, the Nebula speaker looks like no ordinary speaker. Its transparent, cubiform shell and circular windows are almost similar to the bulky helmets used in the earliest ages of deep sea diving or, for a more contemporary image, astronaut helmets. This isn’t by accident, because the Nebula, as its name might suggest, is heavily inspired by the pioneering spirit of mankind’s space programs, like the Apollo missions, the Hubble Telescope, or the more recent Mars landings. Even the specific hue of orange used, namely “International Orange,” was chosen for its connection to space agencies and their use in the spacesuits of old.

Beyond its already uncommon shape, the Nebula wireless speaker boasts a unique feature that truly makes the device feel “space-age.” Instead of a typical digital visualizer, it uses a special Ferrofluid substance that dances to the beat of the music using the electromagnetic field naturally generated by the speaker. This SoundForm technology transforms the Nebula from a powerful speaker into a stunning audiovisual experience that will make you the life of the party and the talk of the town.

The Nebula isn’t just about looks either. Four high-fidelity speakers grouped into two separate chambers, each with its own passive radiator, creates thunderous beats, impressive volume, and palpable vibrations that kick the party’s music up a notch. And if one isn’t enough, you can pair two Nebula speakers wirelessly to create a truly wireless stereo (TWS) experience. Despite all that power, the speaker is super-easy to use with a touch-based control panel on top and support for Bluetooth audio sources, including both iOS and Android devices. Want to really be bold and daring? Simply unscrew the clear detachable JoyShell and flaunt the speakers’ inner beauty for all to see.

Wireless speakers might be very common these days, but that doesn’t mean their designs need to be as well. Taking a page from history’s most daring adventures, the Nebula Tech Art speaker not only delivers excellent audio quality but also creates a striking and memorable visual experience, both through its design as well as its SoundForm ferrofluid visualization. Escape the gravity of monotony with this exciting tech art speaker and bring back the sense of adventure to your life.

Click Here to Buy Now: $619 $1089 ($470 off). Hurry, Flash Sale ends soon!

The post This head-turning speaker is a piece of tech art that pays tribute to space exploration first appeared on Yanko Design.

The Van der Waals ferrofluid speaker is like Windows Media Player visualizations on steroids




With an ominous black orb that dances to the music you play, the Van der Waals speaker should instantly remind you of the alien symbiote that turns Eddie Brock into Venom. The Van der Waals is an orb-shaped audio-visual unit that can be split into two distinct hemispheres – A speaker unit on the back, and a clear cage on the front with ferrofluid suspended inside. As your speaker plays music, its magnetic drivers agitate the ferrofluid, creating perhaps the most otherworldly visualization ever, like a lava lamp from an alien planet.

Click Here to Buy Now: $399 $449 (11% off) Hurry! Only 40 hours left!

The purpose of this speaker, according to its creator Sergey Kuznetsov, was to figure out a way to visualize music. Sure, equalizers and media player graphics do a pretty decent job… but what if you could ‘see’ music in the physical world? What if those audio vibrations could translate to something much more visually apparent and somewhat tangible? To make this possible, Kuznetsov relied on ferrofluid, a material originally developed by NASA to control fuel in zero gravity. Simply put, ferrofluid is a magnet in liquid form, or iron particles suspended in some kind of liquid base (usually oil). Ferrofluid has a unique way of behaving around magnets – while solid iron particles reorient themselves along the lines of a magnetic field, ferrofluid tries to do the same thing, creating weird dancing spikes and arms that make the fluid look like it’s alive. Place such a fluid in front of any speaker (which basically uses electromagnets to turn electric signals into audio vibrations) and the ferrofluid immediately begins responding to the magnetic fluctuations created by the vibrating audio driver (here’s another experimental ferrofluid speaker from 2020)… in short, you get music that you can literally see.

The speaker’s name comes from Dutch physicist and Nobel laureate Johannes Diderik van der Waals, who worked broadly within the field of theoretical molecular physics. In a way, the speaker is a tribute to his work, given that it explores molecular behavior in its own unique way. The speaker’s orb-shaped design feels almost scientific too, like how molecules always show spherical atoms. While that may be splitting hairs, the Van der Waals is definitely an impressive combination of science and design, wrapped together in a product that looks hypnotic and sounds pretty good too.

Given its mesmerizing ferrofluid chamber, it’s easy to forget that the Van der Waals is, in fact, a speaker too. The rear part of the orb-shaped device houses an array of 4 audio drivers (two 15W mid-bass drivers and two 15W tweeters) and a passive radiator at the bottom of the speaker unit. Together, they give the Van der Waals sheer audio firepower, allowing it to have punchy basses, rich mids, and crisp highs. For a speaker that looks like it’s from another galaxy, the Van der Waals prides itself in sounding out of this world too! Meanwhile, a dedicated electromagnet agitates the ferrofluid on the front, making it match the kind of music you play. Queue up some Vivaldi and the ferrofluid gracefully warbles to the sound of the violin. Play some Slipknot and the fluid goes absolutely batshit bonkers, dancing around as if it was possessed.

Functionally, the Van der Waals is just like your regular wireless speaker, albeit with its own twist. You can hook your devices to it via Bluetooth 5.1, or even connect the speaker to a playback device using its aux input. There’s an aux output too, allowing you to hook multiple Van der Waals together to create an army of audio-excited alien amoebas, and finally, a USB-C port to power the speaker. A matte metallic rim around the speaker houses its controls, from power and Bluetooth buttons to volume controls and play-pause buttons. Sadly, the Van der Waals isn’t a smart speaker, which would complete the illusion of having a sentient creature living inside your speaker and communicating with you. Maybe Sergey Kuznetsov will build Alexa or Google Assistant into his next ferrofluid project!

The Van der Waals speaker is pretty large, measuring 9.8 inches in diameter (that’s bigger than a standard soccer ball) and weighing a substantial 11 pounds (5 kilos). Makes sense given that it’s less of a speaker and more of a kinetic sculpture with audio capabilities. Its larger-than-life presence makes it a perfect accent piece for coffee tables, TV units, or even workspaces, and its commanding aura immediately grabs your attention (unlike most smart speakers that sort of just blend into your home decor). Moreover, it even comes with an LED backlight built into its ferrofluid chamber, so you can watch your alien symbiote dance at night too!

You can grab the Van der Waals speaker on Kickstarter for an Early Bird price of $399. However, given how complex the tech is (especially when you consider mass production), the Van der Waals is prone to a lot of technical refinements and won’t begin shipping before November 2022.

Designer: Sergey Kuznetsov

Click Here to Buy Now: $399 $449 (11% off) Hurry! Only 40 hours left!

The post The Van der Waals ferrofluid speaker is like Windows Media Player visualizations on steroids first appeared on Yanko Design.

DIY Speaker with Ferrofluid Display: Lava Amp

YouTuber Dakd Jung recently shared a montage of them making a Bluetooth speaker with a one-of-a-kind visualizer. In front of the speaker is a small glass case with a bit of ferrofluid in it. Inside the speaker is a device that converts part of the sound signal into electromagnetic signals, causing the blob to react to the sound in real-time. Skip to 2:02 in the video to check out the device in action.

It may sound straightforward, but Dakd says a big challenge of his device is that ferrofluid normally sticks to the glass. Dakd had to coat the inside of the case with “special treatment” to allow the ferrofluid to float.

It seems like the ferrofluid can react only to one frequency at a time, and violently at that. But for a one-man passion project, it’s still very well made.

[via The Verge]

 

A ferrofliud sound reactive visualization elevates this minimal Bluetooth speaker to a whole new level!





For an audiophile, adding on a visual experience to your music amplifies the joy – explaining why audio visualizers are so in demand. From the nostalgic visualizations of good old Windows Media Player or cult favorite Winamp – or the much recent phone music players like Poweramp or Media Monkey, being able to move to your favorite beats with a cool visualizer is fun multiplied. Taking the concept of a lava lamp and nerdifying it to a new dimension, Dakd Jung has created this other-worldly speaker, which blew me away – hey, I’m an audiophile, and this is right up my alley!

Bringing the idea of cool music visualizations to a custom speaker, the artist amazes netizens with his Ferrofluid display cell Bluetooth Speaker. Yes, this one uses ferrofluid – the same material initially developed by NASA engineers in the 1960s for pushing fuel into the rocket engines. It is a magnetic material (similar to what iron fillings look like) mixed with a liquid substance to keep the particles from sticking together. The result is a material that is fluid like liquid, but when the magnetic field is applied to it, the material acts as a black blob taking up different shapes depending on the amount and direction of magnetic field influence.

The result is a unique Bluetooth speaker made from 3D printed housing the speaker drivers, a small amplifier, and round glass containing eliminated by white LED lights. Dakd had to think his way around the material sticking to the glass problem, so he coated the inside of the glass with unique material. Depending on the audio frequency, the blob takes up different shapes – something you can’t take your eyes off. All I’ve got to say is – when it is finally available commercially – shut up and take my money!

Designer: Dakd Jung









This magnetic ink watch makes the journey of time much more visually interesting

The idea of a watch has always been to deliver the time to you in a quick manner so you can go about your day. The usual interaction is just to glance at your watch and get on with business, but the INK-MAGNETIC watch takes a much more different approach. Rather than telling you the time so you can rush to complete your tasks or get the day over with, the Ink-Magnetic watch captivates you and helps you appreciate the seconds and minutes rolling by.

The watch makes use of a ferrofluid chamber in its face, while magnetic hands manipulate the liquid from behind the scenes, creating a dynamic Rorschach-test-inspired piece of art that also happens to tell the time. In doing so, the Ink-Magnetic watch hopes to get you to pause for a bit and reflect on the beauty of time, instead of rushing through your day and not appreciating it!

The INK-MAGNETIC Watch is a winner of the Golden Pin Design Award for the year 2020.

Designer: Han Ye

This ferrofluid clock has a mesmeric, magnetic, magical appeal

Magnets have traditionally been used to tell the direction of the north and south poles, but this nifty product gives magnets the ability to indicate the time too! The Ferrofluid clock uses a magnetic liquid instead of your conventional hour, minute, and second hand. The magnetic fluid lies in an airtight chamber on the front, while a magnetic hand at the back of the chamber guides it around, making it look almost like an alien living organism moving in an imaginary circle to tell the time. It truly feels like something out of a science fiction movie!

Ferrofluid was originally developed as a prototype rocket fuel, for its coveted ability to power a rocket in zero gravity. Comprising mainly of kerosene and magnetic nanoparticles, this fluid comes to life around magnets, forming complex textures under influence of the magnetic field. Ferrofluid is now a common material in art and science projects, although its use as a time-telling material definitely makes for an eye-catching product!

The Ferrofluid clock comes with a handcrafted solid oak outer body, and a detachable aluminum frame containing the ferrofluid suspended in a clear chemical solution. Guiding the ferrofluid is a high-torque quartz movement that’s capable of guiding the magnetic liquid around the clock. The clock sports an hour hand and a silent sweeping second hand, making for an art-piece that’s literally dynamic with every passing second. You can take that dynamism a step further by using magnets to push and pull the ferrofluid around, making it do the strange alien-like dance it does so well. Never has the passing of time been such a beautiful, interactive, mesmerizing experience!

Designer: Matt Robison

Click Here to Buy Now: $299 $500 ($201 off). Hurry, only 5/50 left and less than 72 hours left!

Ferrofluid Clock

A desk clock design featuring magnetic liquid hands, a modular design and changeable faces. With magnetic liquid arms made from a prototype rocket fuel, it allows you to interact with it using a magnet.

Mesmerizing blend of art and science. The magnetic liquid is called ferrofluid, and was originally created by NASA in the 60’s as a prototype rocket fuel. It was unique in that it could be pulled into the rocket engines using magnets in zero gravity. Its original formula was actually 85% RP1 (rocket fuel grade kerosene), 10% magnetic nano particles, and 5% oleic acid to prevent clumping.

Since it’s made up of mostly oil mixed with magnetic nano particles it sticks to and stains almost anything it touches. And to make things even trickier it breaks down in the presence of almost any other chemicals and also evaporates in the air. However, Matt after working with ferrofluid for the last 4 years was able to gain the breakthroughs needed for this clock.

Hand Crafted

Each handcrafted clock is made from solid oak and aluminum and you can choose from either a light or dark wood finish.

How to Tell the Time

The long arm is for hours and dot is for minutes. The time shows 2:17.

The World’s First Flat Panel Ferrofluid Display

This detachable flat panel ferrofluid display is the result of 4 years of research and development, hundreds of prototypes, and lots of organic chemistry. The ferrofluid remains suspended in a clear chemical solution that keeps it from breaking down or staining the glass, ever.

Interact with the flat panel display and imagine the possibilities.

Create your Own Clock Faces

They include 4 clock faces, but you can simply download and print out more or even create your own!

Click Here to Buy Now: $299 $500 ($201 off). Hurry, only 5/50 left and less than 72 hours left!

RIZE Ferrofluid Display Mesmerizes with Magnetism

Lava lamps are so 40 years ago. If you want a cool moving display for your desk, you’ll want to check out RIZE, a slick desktop plaything which uses the power of magnetic ferrofluid to create a neat, spinning design.

The RIZE consists of a small glass chamber that sits atop an anodized aluminum base, and is filled with ferrofluid, an unusual liquid with magnetic properties. A structure rises from the center of the glass, and the magnetic fluid sticks to it and spins around, forming a sort of upside-down tornado of metal goo that rises from the base of the glass.

Since the fluid isn’t actually attached to the center, you can pull and push it around using the included magnetic wand, and it’ll just find its way back to the center when you stop messing around.

If there’s anything disappointing about the RIZE is that it’s pretty tiny, measuring in at just 2.5″ x 2.5″ x 4.5″. Still, it’s a pretty sweet desktop toy. You can get your hands on the RIZE ferrofluid display in a variety of fluid colors too, and it’s available now for $135(USD).

Rhei Ferrofluid Clock: A Clock and Its Blob

You may have seen Zelf Koelman’s mesmerizing Ferrolic, a clock that uses ferrofluid to display digits and a variety of complex animations. Damjan Stanković and Marko Pavlović’s Rhei is a simpler but equally notable take on a ferrofluid clock.

rhei_clock_1zoom in

One of the main differences between Ferrolic and Rhei is that the former uses electromagnets while the latter uses neodymium magnets that are moved mechanically to manipulate the ferrofluid.

That means the Rhei uses less power, but can’t quite match the Ferrolic’s precise control over ferrofluid. That said, Damjan claims the digits that Rhei forms will never look exactly the same. I’d like to see its billion variations of the number 1.

rhei_clock_2zoom in

rhei_clock_3zoom in

rhei_clock_4zoom in

rhei_clock_5zoom in

Sadly Rhei’s teaser video doesn’t explain much about how it works, only offering glimpses of its components.

Rhei was one of this year’s Red Dot Design Award winners. Speaking with other Hacker News users, Damjan – who’s a user interface designer by profession – claims he learned about 3D modeling, machining and more only when he started working on Rhei, which makes the outcome even more impressive. That said, Marko’s contribution can’t be ignored because he handled Rhei’s electronics and software.

[via DudeIWantThat & Hack A Day]

Rhei Ferrofluid Clock: A Clock and Its Blob

You may have seen Zelf Koelman’s mesmerizing Ferrolic, a clock that uses ferrofluid to display digits and a variety of complex animations. Damjan Stanković and Marko Pavlović’s Rhei is a simpler but equally notable take on a ferrofluid clock.

rhei_clock_1zoom in

One of the main differences between Ferrolic and Rhei is that the former uses electromagnets while the latter uses neodymium magnets that are moved mechanically to manipulate the ferrofluid.

That means the Rhei uses less power, but can’t quite match the Ferrolic’s precise control over ferrofluid. That said, Damjan claims the digits that Rhei forms will never look exactly the same. I’d like to see its billion variations of the number 1.

rhei_clock_2zoom in

rhei_clock_3zoom in

rhei_clock_4zoom in

rhei_clock_5zoom in

Sadly Rhei’s teaser video doesn’t explain much about how it works, only offering glimpses of its components.

Rhei was one of this year’s Red Dot Design Award winners. Speaking with other Hacker News users, Damjan – who’s a user interface designer by profession – claims he learned about 3D modeling, machining and more only when he started working on Rhei, which makes the outcome even more impressive. That said, Marko’s contribution can’t be ignored because he handled Rhei’s electronics and software.

[via DudeIWantThat & Hack A Day]

Ferrolic Display Makes Good Use Of Ferro Fluid

Ferrolic

You’ve probably seen Ferrofluid before: it’s a black goo that contains iron particles and reacts to magnets in a fascinating way. Zelf Koelman became so enamoured with the little blobs that he and his team spend “a few thousand hours” developing Ferrolic, a special display piece that uses Ferrofluid in creative and mesmerizing ways.

In the front, the display has a basin comparable to an aquarium in which Ferro Fluid can move freely. Behind the scenes powerful electromagnets enable Ferollic to influence the fluid’s shape, to pick it up and move it around. Both modules, the basin and the electronics, sit secure in an aluminium frame.

The software behind these electromagnets, and thus the shapes and information displayed, can be edited. Ferrolic is controlled by an intelligent internal system that is accessible trough a web-browser. In this way users can assign “the creatures” to display time, text, shapes and transitions. Experienced users can create animations from their own custom shapes.

In the display above, Ferrolic is being used as a clock, but that’s just one of the many thousands of things it can display.

It’s a work in progress, and a Kickstarter is planned for some time in the future. But for now there are 24 early production models available for anyone who’d like to develop for Ferrolic… at the princely sum of €7,500 or about $8,500USD.

Ferrolic from zelfkoelman on Vimeo.

[ Product Page ] VIA [ Werd ]