“ So when we make use of the airflow, we can protect ourselves from the rain drops. The faster the air moves, the greater the energy is,” imparts team Air Umbrella wisely. “The flowing air can change the moving path of the object. So how does it work? The rain-rerouter’s kickstart begins in a suitably zen fashion, reminding us lay-folk that ‘air is everywhere on the earth.’ The tech’d up umbrella – tantamount to a stick that blows wind – currently has just over $16,000 (£10,000) in backing with 9 days to go. Anderson said that they hope to have the finished products available in December 2015 and that they will cost between $88 and $108 – and Chuan Wang promises to return all crowdsourced funds to sponsors by Januif they are unable to deliver.An air-powered umbrella has whizzed past its Kickstarter target of $10,000 and looks set to be in (dry) customer hands by next year’s holiday season. In addition to improving the product’s appearance, the inventors said that they will be adding a power display function and other auxiliary functions to the Air Umbrella, which will take them until next June. They also noted that the battery currently takes between 30 minutes (for the air umbrella-a) to just under one hour to charge. The ‘a’ model is the smallest, and is apparently designed to fit in handbags, but also has the shortest battery life of the three.Ī battery-powered device that uses air to keep people dry when it’s raining might seem a bit unusual, but the product’s Kickstarter page assures that the device is, in fact, water proof and has a coverage area of more than one meter in diameter – just enough space for two people to squeeze beneath the protective area in a pinch. There are three different models in the works, a basic style (air umbrella-b), a smaller type designed especially for women (air umbrella-a) and scalable version (air umbrella-c). They are also apparently working on improving the Air Umbrella’s battery life, which ranges from just 15 to 30 minutes currently. “Is it real? Doesn’t this seem like an overly complicated solution to a fairly simple problem? Wasn’t that fairly simple problem already solved by, um, normal umbrellas? And doesn’t the Air umbrella look a lot like a sex toy?”Ĭhuan Wang, who worked on the project along with postgraduates from Nanjing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics and PhD graduates from Beijing University of Aeronautics and Astronautics, is reportedly considering changing the appearance of the device, which might at least solve one of the issues brought up by Bradford. “There’s a lot to digest here,” said Harry Bradford of the Huffington Post. A button located at the bottom turns it on or off, and the base can also be twisted in order to change the pressure of the air being emitted. The fan draws in air at the bottom of the head, then expels it from the top at high pressure, forming the protective air curtain above the user. The Air Umbrella apparently uses a motor and a lithium battery to create a canopy of air providing an invisible cover that keeps the user dry.Īs Elizabeth Anderson of The Telegraph explains, the lithium battery powers the motor, which operates a rotating fan-type mechanism at the top. The device is fittingly known as the Air Umbrella, and to say it has drawn a lot of interest would be a massive understatement, as its Kickstarter campaign surged well past its $10,000 goal and to date has already earned over $94,000 in pledges. If you’re the kind of person that hates getting wet during a rainstorm but doesn’t want a large fabric dome covering your head, Chinese inventor Chuan Wang has the answer you’ve been waiting for: a new high-tech device that resembles a massager and uses air to create an invisible “force field” to keep the showers at bay.

Air umbrella kickstarter