A few weeks ago, the Just Orb Me Team answered a few questions for us about their project, but we were still not 100% sure what the Orb was. The Orb itself is not an incredibly complex product, but there is nothing like it out there, so it makes a description difficult. After seeing it in person, I understand exactly what it does, but I am struggling to describe it. Here is how the team described it to us:

The Orb is an Oral-Aural-Aura communication device combining speaking, hearing, and luminous radiation. The power of the medium is not only the ability to communicate your message through voice or ambient light, but also that its communication is only experienced by connecting a sender who is ready to express a message with a receiver who is also now welcoming to communication. The JustOrbMe.com project is both a dynamic communication software application and a physical device for receiving the message.

See what I mean. The Orb is sort-of a new take on the answering machine. Essentially, then, the Orb is more of a passive answering machine as it is not connected to any phone. Further, there is no real call-back or return messaging. We had a chance to speak with Andrew Ruppar, one of the founders of The Orb, during One Spark. He explained the device perfectly:

Check out all of our One Spark coverage.