Turn Your Umbrella Into A Mobile Weather Station
The umbrella prototype A sensor measures raindrops hitting the umbrellas canvas, and transmits that data to a smartphone. Rolf Hut / Delft University of Technology Besides keeping you dry, in the future your umbrella could also help scientists measure rainfall. Researcher Rolf Hut, from Delft University of Technology in The Netherlands, has created a prototype umbrella incorporating a gauge that can detect and measure raindrops hitting the canvas. This is how it works, as noted by the BBC: A piezo sensor stuck under the canvas measures the vibrations caused by falling raindrops. This is wired into a 20-euro [about $28] mobile-phone Bluetooth earpiece, which dumps its information into an app. The smartphone then links all its data over the cell network to a laptop. Experiments in the lab and in Dr. Hut's back yard during a light...