May 19 2007

Surf the Internet with Pileus (It’s an Umbrella!)

Posted by Sophia as Cool Stuff, Gadgets, Hardware and Gadget Features, The Web, Wireless

Meet the umbrella that lets you do more than shield you from the rain, the Pileus:

Pileus is an umbrella connected to the Internet to make walking in rainy days fun. Pileus has a large screen on the top surface, a built-in camera, a motion sensor, GPS, and a digital compass, and it provides two main functions; [sic] A Social Photo-sharing and A 3D Map Navigation.

The “social photo-sharing” part is actually with Flickr, while the “3d map navigation” part is powered by Google Earth. Pileus started out as a research project by Sho Hashimoto and Takashi Matsumoto at Keio University’s Human Computer-Interaction (HCI) Design Lab.

Here’s a short video how you can view photos with (or should I say under?) the Pileus:

Here’s another video, this time showing the 3D navigation feature. (More photos and videos on their official website.)

You can also catch a live demonstration of the Pileus prototype at the San Francisco Arts Commission Gallery from April 20 to June 16. This quirky umbrella has also grabbed attention in Europe and South Africa.

I would never stand under the rain and use my umbrella to surf the web. That aside, it looks like fun in a really geeky, Inspector Gadget slash James Bond way.

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4 Responses

benj
19|May|2007

two words: open manhole
technosearch
19|May|2007

I wouldn’t use that umbrella here in Manila. Strong winds will surely break that thing. And I think it would be a good umbrella against the sun… but I’m just too afraid that it will break if it is used against the rain. Or maybe I just have little faith on it…

Oh, and I wonder if they could create a bigger umbrella like that, something like beach umbrellas. And instead of the navigation feature, it will have a video player feature (powered by YouTube??) on it; so you can watch a movie while bathing under the sun.
ia
19|May|2007

I’m pretty sure they’d upgrade it. But the neat part is how they used motion sensors to control the applications. Although, yeah, it might be wiser to stay put since you won’t be looking anywhere else except under your umbrella!
Mr Butterscotch
24|May|2007

If an umbrella is that cool wouldn’t you just want to open it indoors?!

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