Getting my hands on the echorb was easily my most intriguing and impressive experience at CEATEC 2025. Part of that comes from what echorb is: a palm-sized, stone-like device that blurs the line between technology, art, and human sensation. Mixing art and technology has long been one of my favorite topics, and echorb sits squarely at that intersection.
At first touch, echorb does not feel simple in a generic way. Its design is minimalist yet genuinely beautiful, a rarity for an electronic device packed with sensors. The object is smooth, oval, and carefully weighted, with a finish that feels intentional. Once activated, it becomes clear that this is not about buttons, screens, or notifications. Instead, Murata Manufacturing (hereinafter “Murata”) uses haptics and sensing to create physical sensations that guide movement, convey rhythm, and enable shared tactile experiences.
Echorb was first presented by Murata at Expo 2025 Osaka, where the company sponsored the Better Co-Being Signature Pavilion, “an art-focused space without a roof or walls, designed to enable visitors to experience resonance with each other, the world, and the future.”
What Is echorb?
Murata describes echorb as a “mysterious stone,” but beneath the poetic framing is a tightly integrated piece of engineering that combines sensing, wireless communication, haptics, and light within a single, minimalist object. In addition to touch, echorb also uses subtle lighting effects, with color and intensity changing in sync with the haptic feedback. The light does not act as a primary interface, but reinforces what the user is feeling through vibration.
At its core, echorb brings together several technologies that are rarely combined in such a compact, untethered form:
- 3D haptics technology, capable of generating directional vibration patterns that create the illusion of force or guided movement
- Vital sensing, allowing the device to detect and record heartbeat rhythms
- Wireless connectivity, including LF (low-frequency) antennas to detect location and RFID, used to coordinate multiple devices and link them to external systems.
What makes echorb unusual is not just what it does, but how quickly and compactly it was realized. According to Murata, the device was developed in roughly six months, a timeline that would normally take two to three years for a completely new hardware concept. To achieve this, Murata partnered with MIRAISENS, a company specializing in 3D haptics. Until this project, MIRAISENS had only worked on 3D haptics systems connected to computers. Building a fully self-contained, battery-powered device was unexplored territory.
At the heart of echorb is a custom actuator developed by the team, led by Kenji Kagayama on the hardware side. Unlike conventional actuators that vibrate along a single axis, this one can output vibration along two axes, allowing the system to create the illusion of being pulled forward, backward, left, right, or anywhere in between. This directional capability is essential to producing the convincing “pulling” sensations that define the echorb experience.
Hardware alone, however, was not enough. Software played a critical role in turning raw vibration into a believable sensation. Keito Kito, who led software development, noted that early versions felt underwhelming when tested by Expo staff. To refine perception, the team repeatedly tested the device with people who had never experienced 3D haptics before, iterating on timing, intensity, and sequencing based on real human reactions rather than lab assumptions.
The electronic stone’s physical design also required extensive trial-and-error. Weight reduction and actuator placement had to be optimized to ensure vibrations traveled cleanly through the object. Hiroyuki Harada, responsible for the product design, described shaving weight off the internal structure one gram at a time, even drilling holes in the circuit board, until the balance between responsiveness and comfort felt right.
Unlike conventional vibration motors that simply buzz, Murata’s 3D haptics rely on precisely timed vibration sequences, custom actuators, and carefully tuned software. The result is a sensation that feels directional and intentional rather than mechanical. After a few seconds, the brain begins to accept the illusion, which is precisely the goal. echorb does not apply force; it suggests it.
Groupe Demo 1: Sharing Heartbeats Around the Table
One of the most memorable echorb group demos at the Murata booth involved several participants standing or sitting around a circular table, each holding an echorb.
Using the built-in vital sensor, each device detected its user’s heartbeat. These heartbeats were then shared across the group, allowing participants to feel not only their own pulse, but the pulse of others, translated into gentle rhythmic vibrations.
Importantly, this was not framed as medical monitoring. Murata positions it as an experiential connection, reinforcing the Expo’s Better Co-Being theme: understanding one another not through data dashboards, but through embodied sensation.
Groupe Demo #2: A Multiplayer “Virtual Tennis” Experience
Another group demo used echorb as an input device for a shared, screen-based experience, which I referred to as a “virtual tennis” game for lack of a better term.
Each participant held an echorb while facing a large display. On screen, colored vertical lanes corresponded to individual players, with stylized rackets striking incoming balls in response to timing and motion. The interaction was clear: coordinated swings, taps, or rhythmic gestures translated directly into on-screen actions.
The haptic feedback changed depending on the virtual interaction. A sharper, lighter vibration suggested a fast impact, described on screen as similar to a metal bat, while other interactions produced softer or more resonant sensations. The device was surprisingly responsive, and I genuinely enjoyed the experience.
What made the demo compelling was not competition, but synchronization. Participants adjusted their movements to match one another, guided as much by what they felt through the echorb as by what they saw on the screen.
From Technology to Art: Artist and Artisan Editions
Beyond the interactive demos, Murata also displayed special echorb editions created in collaboration with artists and traditional craftspeople, a detail that can easily be overlooked without careful attention.
Luminous echorb, Pavilion Collaboration and Object Design
Several glittering, iridescent echorbs were labeled as “luminous echorbs.” These versions feature layered colors and reflective particles designed to shimmer under light, particularly in darker environments.
The Better Co-Being Signature Pavilion at Expo 2025 Osaka was developed under the theme direction of Miyata Hiroaki, with the art installation created by EiM, a multidisciplinary creative team led by Miyata Hiroaki and Ninagawa Mika. The installation expresses the idea of embracing diversity through thousands of suspended light elements that respond to natural light by day and transform into a luminous, immersive environment at night.
In addition, to coincide with the start of the pavilion’s nighttime presentation, Murata unveiled a special version of echorb called “luminous echorb,” designed by Ninagawa Mika. This edition was created by carefully selecting and layering multiple types of glitter to produce deep, vivid sparkles that reflect the visual language of the nighttime installation.
The video shown at the Murata booth at CEATEC 2025, displaying a glowing, rain-like space guided by echorb, originates from this pavilion experience and reflects the shared artistic direction behind the installation.
Wajima Lacquerware Editions — Traditional Craft Collaboration
Another set of echorbs featured gold leaf and lacquered finishes, displayed alongside information about Wajima lacquerware, a traditional craft from Ishikawa Prefecture.
These editions were created as part of Murata’s recovery support efforts following the Noto Peninsula earthquake. Produced in collaboration with local artisans, the lacquered echorbs symbolize both continuity and renewal, merging Murata’s advanced electronics with centuries-old craftsmanship.
Why echorb Matters
In a trade show dominated by screens, sensors, and specifications, echorb stood out by doing something surprisingly rare: it made me slow down and feel.
Murata is not presenting echorb as a consumer product, at least not yet. Instead, it functions as a research platform, exploring how haptics, biosensing, and shared physical experiences might shape future interfaces.
At CEATEC 2025, echorb felt less like a prototype and more like a question posed to the industry:
What if technology helped us sense each other, rather than only interact with systems?
Murata will also exhibit at CES 2026. Based on the company’s CES announcements, the focus in Las Vegas will center on intelligent system technologies for mobility, wellness, and connectivity, suggesting a stronger emphasis on deep-technology demonstrations rather than the art-and-technology approach I experienced with echorb at CEATEC.
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