Hypnotizing Automaton Replicates Water Droplet Ripples

rippling raindtop automaton

In a world of screens and high-tech gadgets all around us, it’s sometimes hard to remember the simple pleasures of childhood. This hand-cranked automaton from designer Dean O’Callaghan is a delightfully simple toy that just happens to be completely mesmerizing.

As the user turns the crank, concentric circles rise and fall around a central sphere. The sphere represents a single raindrop while the circles are the ripples echoing away from the point of the drop.

raindrop automaton

This beautiful wooden toy is the kind of low-tech entertainment that we don’t see often these days. O’Callaghan has plans to create a kit that people can put together on their own at home.

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See more in Art of Tech or under Technology. April, 2014.