- YouTubers create hovering drone umbrellas to shield users from rain.
- Video shows a modified umbrella with electronics successfully maintaining its position above the person.
- Feasibility is uncertain, but proof-of-concept signals the future of drones solving mundane problems.
A dystopian solution
In a video that evokes dystopian anxiety, YouTubers from the channel I Build Stuff have created a functioning drone umbrella that autonomously hovers over users to keep them dry.
The bizarre invention aims to free people’s hands during rain so they can use devices unencumbered.
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Modification and successful tests
After modifying a normal umbrella by replacing its handle with a 3D-printed housing packed with GPS, flight controllers, and other electronics, the team attached four carbon fiber arms, allowing small props to spin outside the canopy.
Through extensive calibration, they achieved successful test flights with the umbrella steadily maintaining position above a person underneath.
The current prototype relies entirely on manual remote control rather than autonomous sensors and cameras for tracking like advanced drones from Skydio.
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Uncertain feasibility
Real-world feasibility remains questionable. However, the proof-of-concept signals a not-so-distant future where ubiquitous drones integrate deeply into daily life to solve mundane problems.
“The classic umbrella design has gone unchanged for centuries without considering that users now always want to use devices,” the video creators commented. “Why not solve tech problems with other tech?”
Many question the costs of privacy, noise, and safety if the remote-control umbrella project scales.
“Your scientists were so preoccupied with whether or not they could, they didn’t stop to think if they should,” read one response, evoking Jurassic Park.
