A Kickstarter project called the Air Umbrella promises to change the way people protect themselves against the rain.
The Air Umbrella looks like a long, futuristic toilet plunger, with a button on one end and a rounded head on the other, that forces out a stream of air to create the ‘force field.’
The effect, its creators say, protects an approximately 1-square-metre space beneath from the rain.
“The airflow forms an umbrella without a visible cover,” according to the claims posted on the Kickstarter page.
The device, which is still under development, will come in three styles and is expected to cost about $200, the Kickstarter page says.
Air Umbrella A is 30 centimetres long and weighs 500 grams, with a 15-minute battery life. The designers say it’s made for females.
Air Umbrella B is the larger, basic model with a 30-minute battery life. It’s 50 centimetres long and weighs 800 grams.
The Air Umbrella C also lasts 30 minutes and is scalable. It weighs 850 grams and, when extended, reaches 80 centimetres long. The collapsed device is 50 centimetres long.
The creators say the Air Umbrella protects against “most” raindrops and heavy winds, but it’s susceptible to larger drops or heavy gusts.
The device is fairly quiet and its sounds are masked by the rain, the creators say. However, the demo video posted on the Kickstarter page does not let you hear for yourself.
The Air Umbrella had more than $28,000 in funding on Wednesday morning, which is well beyond its initial $10,000 goal. The project will remain open to additional funding until Friday, Oct. 24.
Designers Joel Lim, Vandamme Etinee, Beshoy Girgis, Vincent Leung and James Dellow plan have the device manufactured in September 2015, with delivery to Kickstarter supporters scheduled for December 2015.
