A scientist from The Netherlands has come up with the prototype for an umbrella that can collect data from the rain.
Rolf Hut, from Delft University of Technology, designed the smart umbrella to sense raindrops as it touches the surface. A Bluetooth sends the data to a cellphone, which then sends it to a computer, the BBC reported. Hut hopes the convenient water meter will help scientists who study the Earth's water.
"We have radar and satellites, but we're not measuring rain on the ground as we used to," Hut told the BBC. "It's expensive to maintain the gauges.
"Therefore, agencies are reducing the number, and that's a problem for people who do operational water management or do research into hydrology because they don't have the access to the data they used to," Hut continued.
Hut recently presented his invention at the European Geosciences Union General Assembly in Vienna. Underneath the umbrella's hood is "an acoustic rain gauge" that measures the rain's vibrations as it falls, reads a description about the prototype.
The gauge is connected to a Bluetooth earpiece, which sends the data to a cellphone app. The app then sends the info to a laptop, the BBC reported.
Hut tested the smart umbrella by comparing its results to that of a real rain gauge as it rained one day in his backyard. The results from both gauges were similar enough to conclude the umbrella was effective.
"Eventually every umbrella would come with this technology, or at least premium umbrellas would. And if you wanted to be involved, the moment you opened the umbrella, it would start sending data to your phone which uploads it to the cloud," Hut told the BBC.
Smart umbrellas would be able to aid the study of hydrology in urban areas, Hut said. Other scientists are developing similar ideas, including one where cars would be outfitted with windshield wipers that automatically turn on when it senses rain, the BBC reported.
"It would greatly improve our ability to predict urban flooding and take measures when things are going bad," Hut said.
