flying umbrella follows people wherever they go to protect them from getting wet in the rain

Drone-powered flying umbrella hovers above head

It sounds tiring to hold up the umbrella all the time while it rains, so the content creator behind I Build Stuff does what his account’s name says: he builds an umbrella that flies above the user’s head and follows them around using a controller to shield them from the rain. From the get-go, it might be clear enough that a drone is used, but as soon as the content creator flips it over, the flying umbrella is packed with electronics and even 3D-printed parts that make it not only hover in the air but zip through the skies, continuously guarding the user from getting wet in the rain.

video stills courtesy of I Build Stuff, via Youtube

Carbon-fiber 3D-printed parts to make it lightweight

Lots of trial and error occurred when I Build Stuff’s one-man team took on the challenge of creating a working flying umbrella. He thought it would be as easy as just slapping propellers, installing a drone, and attaching an umbrella. He found out there were technical details he had to try out before he could make the drone-powered umbrella work. In his invention, he assembled a cross-like construction made of 3D-printed parts that poke out of the umbrella. On each end, a small propeller rotates like a hurricane, lifting up the umbrella. It also helps that these tubes are made of carbon fiber to make them lightweight enough to fly high in the air and bring the drone up with them.

the I Build Stuff creator assembled a frame made of 3D-printed parts for the flying umbrella with drone

Controlling the drone-powered flying umbrella

A flight controller and an electric stability control circuit follow next. The I Build Stuff inventor soldered the wires to the circuit which can regulate the speed of the motor so that the drone-like device doesn’t just fly off (which almost happened as seen later in the video). The circuit is programmed into the flight controller so the inventor can keep the flying umbrella stabilized as it follows people around. He also had a GPS in place in hopes of locking up the sunshade in place instead of it scurrying off out of the master’s hands. He told his viewers that it took him months to make the flying umbrella, and during its pilot flight, it worked. Until I Build Stuff took it for a second run.

the drone-powered flying umbrella has propellers that help lift it up

The second time the flying umbrella was taken to the skies and above the head, the homemade drone-powered device started drifting off as if it couldn’t wait to hop off the fence of the testing field. The I Build Stuff inventor took a day off, and the next day, the flying umbrella started shaking violently like rustled leaves. The inventor didn’t dive into how he managed to repair the system, but he assured his viewers that the flying umbrella has been stabilized. He even wrapped up the electronics with plastic wrap – which some commenters disagreed on for the fear of the device heating up and causing fire – to protect the technology from getting wet too.

the tubes are made of carbon fiber to make them lightweight enough to fly high in the air

While questions surrounding the stability of the flying umbrella still linger, the I Build Stuff inventor has made it work so far. During testing, he admitted that it wasn’t raining hard, but his homemade device was enough to protect him from the drizzle. He thought too that his flying umbrella could even withstand harsher conditions, but could be whisked away by strong gusts. While he could control the flying umbrella and force it to come to him, the device itself couldn’t do it autonomously. Moving forward, the inventor is looking into adding a camera and programming the flying umbrella so that it follows the user without needing to maneuver it with a controller.

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