This ‘air umbrella’ that weighed nearly a kilo was everything that’s wrong with Kickstarter gadgets

This Air Umbrella, pictured above as a non-working prototype, promised to be an “invisible umbrella” that uses a stream of air to shield you from the elements. It was on Kickstarter in mid-2015. Judging by the rough schematic diagrams, it was basically a Dyson Air Multiplier fan that you hold above your head.

But the Air Umbrella Kickstarter went belly up in December 2015, with the founders finally admitting that they couldn’t pull off the next-generation product – but not before the project raised US$102,240 from 842 backers.

“I’m terribly sorry that we have to eventually terminate the project because we are unable to break through the issue of product safety for a long time…although we strive to doing well in dynamic balance and to improve the product security from other aspects, we consider that some damages or accidents may cause fatal safety problem, we do not dare to launch such a product of safety concerns on the market and to send to consumers,” wrote the China-based creators in a post.

This capitulation should have surprised no one – the flaws in this ‘umbrella’ were immediately obvious. This Air Umbrella was pointless. This was tech for the sake of tech. It in no way improved on the existing product which has been around in its present form for a little over 2,000 years.

It sounded great as a nebulous ‘hey, I have an idea’ concept, but the practical reality – even as claimed by the creators – was awful. Apparently the Air Umbrella weighed, for the top model with a retractable base, “about 850 grams,” which is 1.87 pounds. That means the Air Umbrella weighed nearly a kilo. That’s double the weight of a quality umbrella, or four times the weight of a very cheap umbrella. Can you hold up something that weighs nearly a kilo in one hand for a length of time? And how would you have managed not to look like a lunatic holding up what appears to be a giant’s vibrator?

Not that you would have held up the Air Umbrella up for long, because the supposed battery life is terrible. The top-end model, which has the best battery life because it’s so damn heavy and full of li-ion horsepower, promised enough juice for “about 30 minutes.” So hopefully Mother Nature is obliging and doesn’t rain on you for more than half an hour.

Of course, you could have saved some weight and a few bucks by getting the entry-level Air Umbrella, which weighs a more manageable 500 grams (1.1 pounds), but its battery life was a laughable 15 minutes.

So, here’s a quick summary: this product was unusably heavy for many people, and you could only use it for a short period of time. And the price? Prices ranged from US$88 to US$108. So that’s worse than just using a conventional umbrella as well. How could people have funded this Kickstarter?

Photo credit: odessa4 / 123RF.

Make our lives simpler, not more complicated

The much-revered English car engineer Colin Chapman had a principle when it came to good design, and it’s still fundamental to his company, Lotus, many decades after his death. “Simplify, then add lightness.” That should also be a mantra for gadget makers, who all too often do the very opposite – adding complexity and weight. That does nothing more than create more hassle in our lives. That’s why smartwatches are still not taking off – they’re just fiddly, and it’s one more damn thing that we’ve got to charge every day. If you had bought an Air Umbrella, you’d thenhave one more thing you’ll have to charge daily. Or several times a day if the weather is inclement.

And let’s remember that this gizmo came with a lot of unknowns. How about the noise levels? Could it handle the worst kind of rainstorm? Dyson’s fans are rather noisy and all they have to do is waft a gentle breeze in your face, so I dread to think how noisy the Air Umbrella will be as a result of the power and rotary speeds needed to create an air forcefield that can keep out the rain. I’ve got a nasty feeling it’ll be like a Boeing 737 revving up for take off, positioned just several inches from your earhole.