Autonomous flying umbrella follows and shields users from rain and sunlight
52 points - today at 3:49 PM
SourceThat's cute. They need to be able to deal with other flying umbrellas nearby, if this is to be a product, of course.
This would probably sell in Shenzhen.
12_throw_away
today at 4:42 PM
IMO it's worth watching the video rather than reading someone's writeup of it. My favorite part is this (written) list of everything that went wrong [1] ... and how much of it is due to the intersection of hardware, software, vendors, and linux
[1] https://youtu.be/EYRrUiM_A6g?si=T60tAChuo-GNtfqW&t=921
The video is incredibly fucking annoying
I saw this on Facebook before I saw it here. While it bears a superficial resemblance to 1000s of clickbaity tech stunts this one really delighted me. Some of these should be edited into a remastered release of Blade Runner.
SubiculumCode
today at 5:59 PM
Following the Ukraine war has basically made me flinch at the sight and sound of drones.
I think this is in the category of excess application of technology
I don't know - I got an automatic garbage can that not only opens and closes, it also ejects the garbage bag when it is full and vacuums in another one into place.
today's luxury is tomorrow's necessity.
things get normalized. pop-up ads, selfies, subscriptions, the cybertruck...
> today's luxury is tomorrow's necessity
Indeed, see stuff like fridges, cars, phones, internet access...
> pop-up ads, selfies, subscriptions, the cybertruck...
None of these are a luxury, or ever was; in a way, they are the opposite.
you got me, I am deadly afraid of the world in which any of these become a necessity
consider captain america, perhaps an autonomous flying riot shield that protects, and strikes out.
And drenches them in sound
what about hydrogen or helium to extend battery life?
SoftTalker
today at 5:08 PM
The kid would appear to have a future job opportunity at Cyberdyne Systems.
noise, autonomy are real constraints. And the wind resistance is a safety critical issue.
To make it wind resistant you need to increase the drone's power/weight ratio which works against battery life/autonomy and weight (more battery, more weight)
This is a nice technical experiment but cannot work as a general public product in my opinion (I build drones since 2013 and know this topic in depth)
ricardobayes
today at 4:34 PM
That's really cool honestly. This took me back to around 2017 when everyone was into hardware startups.
Interesting, not what I remember from 2017. To which hardware startups are you referring?
dlcarrier
today at 5:59 PM
One example of the peak of that craziness was in 2016, after Snapchat released glasses with an embedded camera, which were more or less received as as a gimmick by their user base, Snapchat changed their name to Snap Inc and told their investors that they're now a hardware company.
ricardobayes
today at 5:42 PM
Well that was the peak of the kickstarter era, tons of wearables and new projects. You know, like Pebble
comrade1234
today at 4:15 PM
Good for a haircut too.
saltcured
today at 4:31 PM
Yeah, I can only imagine the stability when breezy weather hits that big sail
>what was supposedly a small project ended up big and complicated
Welcome to the drone world! So many moving parts and one tiny mistake, you end up losing a $60k drone in the ocean (true story!)
That being said, regulations prevent flying drones of any size above people, unless the drone is high to certain altitude, because of all the dangers that bring, a small issues and the props will harm them.
Cool project tho!
projektfu
today at 6:22 PM
Better than losing the expense vehicle prototype and the pilot as well.