The Acoustic Alarm by Jamie McMahon

Product designer at the University of Dundee Jamie McMahon has produced The Acoustic Alarm, an alarm that wakes you up in the morning in a pleasant, less abrasive way than a beeping sound.

Inspired by various musical instruments, The Acoustic Alarm uses a rotational pick to pluck guitar strings to get you out of bed.

From the designer:

Human emotions are influenced by many factors, and one of these factors which annoys people the most is the sound of their morning alarm. The Acoustic Alarm scraps the annoying morning alarm, and replaces it with a relaxing acoustic tune, which has been designed for the user to customise the tone of their alarm by adjusting the tuning pegs. The Acoustic Alarm has been hand crafted from 2mm thick birch plywood, walnut and stainless steel. The body which is made from the birch plywood has been finished with a clear wax to keep the natural colour of the wood and to enhance the grain. The bridges, tuning pegs and string pick have been made from walnut to give a contrast in the shades of wood, as well as give strength to the pieces with most tension. The stainless steel knobs and switch give highlight to the product and make it clear that they control the alarm. The alarm is set by turning the steel knobs to the desired time (top for hours and bottom for minutes) and then flicking the switch to the ‘on’ position.

See a video on Jamie’s website.