This concept is a device fashioned like a marble but is in fact a bouncy rubber ball used to control music playback on a smartphone. It controls playback functions such as play, pause, and skip to next track. There are no buttons, controls or touch-screens involved, the device is controlled via a gyroscope situated within the ball itself. To control music playback, the ball is bounced on the ground, or wall, or ceiling, or anything that will register a sudden jolt to the gyroscope. The user could decide what playback actions were performed on different bounce counts, but the default settings for the device would be:

One bounce = pause/resume playback

Two bounces in quick succession = skip to next track

To allow the user to bounce the ball without interrupting playback, the user simply holds the device next to the smartphone for 2 seconds. An NFC tag within the device interacts with the smartphone and a “lock” feature is enabled, meaning the user can bounce the ball without affecting music playback. To disable this, the user simply holds the device next to the phone for another 2 seconds. A small vibrate in the phone or a brief audible tone in the earphones would provide feedback to the user when the hold feature is enabled or disabled.

Audio would be provided by either the standard smartphone earphones or wireless bluetooth earphones which match the main unit. Bluetooth is also how the device communicates with the smartphone.

Because the technology and materials involved with the device are established and inexpensive, the device could be sold for between €10 and €15, meaning that losing the ball while bouncing it does not have a substantial financial impact and can be easily replaced.