It’s all too easy to forget an umbrella on a rainy day. But this is the 21st century—shouldn’t your umbrella remind you when it’s needed? Well, yes, it should. And it can do that via a stand that lights up when the forecast calls for rain.
There are several ways to make a smart umbrella stand, but the easiest uses littleBits modules, miniature circuit boards that snap together with magnets. The stand communicates with an online weather forecast through the Internet-connected cloudBit module and a service called IFTTT (short for “If This Then That”), which helps Web applications talk to one another. For example, if Yahoo Weather predicts rain, then IFTTT will send a command to the cloudBit, telling the electroluminescent wire on the stand to illuminate.
Although you could just wrap the littleBits light wire around a prefabricated umbrella stand, it’s more fun to customize a 3D-printed version. To take the project one step further, modify the open-source designs. Try adding a littleBits pressure sensor to the stand so it can detect an umbrella’s presence and ping your phone if you leave the house unprepared.
Stats
Time: 6 hours
Cost: $129
Difficulty: 3/5
Materials
- 3D printer filament (PLA works well)
- 4 M3 hex nuts
- ¼-inch-thick, 3-inch-diameter stainless steel plate
- 4 10mm M3 hex bolts
- Optional: umbrella stand
- Optional: Tape or zip ties
- Mounting board
- littleBits modules: USB power, cloudBit, and light wire
Tools
- 3D printer
- Wire cutters
- Allen wrench for M3 bolts
- Wi-Fi network
Instructions
Materials
For links to advanced instructions, design files, and more, visit raincloud.jeremyblum.com.
This article was originally published in the April 2015 issue of Popular Science, under the title “An Umbrella Stand That Outsmarts The Rain.”
