[gr366]

A small detail I found interesting while watching Minority Report recently: among all the futuristic innovations displayed and mentioned in this article, when it began to rain, people still opened up traditional black umbrellas.

[hugh3]

Umbrellas have been in use for thousands of years. Until we get head-mounted lasers that vapourise every incoming raindrop (probably not a great idea in itself) we're pretty much stuck with 'em.

[danssig]

Or you could wear waterproof clothing. Where I am in Europe I don't see too many umbrellas. They have a saying here: "There is no bad weather, just bad clothing".

[JulianMorrison]

I have yet to see waterproof clothing that fulfils 2 criteria which umbrellas easily do:

- Your face and hands don't get wet, even when the rain is blowing sideways. (Coat-only waterproofing also leaves you with wet jeans and shoes.)

- You don't get basically just as wet anyhow on account of sweat being trapped inside the clothes. (Even "breathable" stuff traps sweat when its outside is slick with water.)

[diN0bot]

lots of materials innovation has made wearing water proof jackets, pants and shoes way more awesome than the smelly, hot, unbreathing linseed oil covered cloaks of a hundred years ago.

[cheez]

Some inventions can't be improved?

[evo_9]

http://www.nubrella.com/

[hugh3]

An honest attempt to improve the umbrella, perhaps, but it looks both ridiculous and claustrophobic. (edit: Why do we describe small spaces as claustrophobic rather than claustrophobia-inducing? We don't describe spiders as arachnophobic or wide open spaces as agoraphobic, do we?)

There must be a better solution to umbrellas getting inverted. Why do they even have to bend that way?

[mechanical_fish]

If you make the umbrella ribs more rigid you will tend to make them heavier. You could improve the leverage of the braces between the stem and the ribs by attaching the braces farther out on the ribs and lower down on the stem, but that will collide with the owner's head unless they hold the umbrella higher, which will cause more leakage and catch more wind and make it harder to brace the stem against your body in a wind.

I'd be very hesitant to claim that I could design a better umbrella. They've been evolving for a very long time. Maybe modern materials would help, but I for one wouldn't dare buy a carbon-fiber umbrella because I just know I'd leave it on a bus or something. Cheapness is a feature too.

Meanwhile, the hilarious invention at the link not only looks ridiculous, but I'd have to be convinced that it wouldn't drip all over my lower body. And how on earth do you carry it when it's folded up? A big feature of the standard umbrella design is that it's not that hard to carry or store while folded.

I have a nice waterproof hat from Outdoor Research and a Gore-Tex jacket. For serious swimming I've also got waterproof pants and even gaiters. That combination seems like it would be superior to the space helmet.

[pablasso]

I'd rather get wet than look stupid wearing that.

[bricestacey]

senz http://www.senzumbrellas.com/shop/home.php

[kmfrk]

As a Senz owner, was the grandparent a comment on company innovation or user adoption?

As great as the Senz is, it lacks one of a regular umbrella's most compelling features; its handle is inconvenient to use, and, combined with the lack of a pointy end, you can't use it as a walking stick of sorts. This also makes umbrellas feel less cumbersome, because they still serve a purpose, when it is not raining.

(And it also makes it more difficult to hum Singing in the Rain to yourself and pretend you're Gene Kelly.)

[jeremymims]

Yep, you just described my two biggest problems with my Senz. Add a curved handle and a pointed bottom (even just a replaceable metal nub) and now you've got the perfect umbrella.

[Joakal]

In the near future, Umbrellas can probably absorb light so well due to no reflection, that it offers warmth from the cold rain.

That's from the top of my head.