Before all the angry meteorologists start leaving rebuttals as comments, give this post a chance.
The term Pileus is known to Romans as a hat and to forecasters as a sign of stormy weather. From the same culture that brought us squid-ink pizza and Power Rangers, the Japanese will tell you that Pileus is the name of the coolest umbrella - ever. To out perform this umbrella, the challenger must beat the following list of unexpected features:
1) Wi-Fi enabled
2) Integrated digital camera
3) Handle with a built-in projector
4) Automated picture and video uploads to Flickr and YouTube (respectively)
5) Last, but not least – rain resistant.
Developed in the Okude laboratory of Tokyo's Keio University, a Pileus prototype showed up early in the year at the Ubicomp 2006 conference. Accounts were also set up on Flickr and YouTube with photos and videos uploaded. The Pileus’ design has been improved into a sleeker version since then and features a twistable grip for file navigation. Although I question the practicality of this invention, I still find it an extremely innovative creation. By debuting at a conference on ubiquitous computing, it’s further evidence that soon no one will be able to escape YouTube – even if it’s just you, the rain, and your umbrella.


Comments