Besides robots, Japanese people are famous for manufacturing all sorts of weird gadgets. While some are utterly useless, others such as this illuminated umbrella should really be sold worldwide.
The illuminated umbrella is manufactured by Century, a Japanese company that seems to be very concerned about the safety of women and children at night. Wondering where all the light comes from? The source of it is a high-output 6V krypton bulb that stays cool while functioning. To get as much light as possible, the manufacturer mounted this bulb right below the open umbrella’s highest point. The handle of the Bright Night umbrella hosts 4 AA batteries that power the aforementioned bulb for up to 3 hours. Having walks in the rain for longer than that is rather improbable, but even if it happens, all that people need to do to continue having light is to replace the batteries.
A while ago, I stumbled upon a website with camping tricks. One of them referred to how to illuminate an entire tent with a head lamp, and the solution implied attaching the said lamp to a white water jug so that the light faces the plastic. As a result, the light propagates better than if the head lamp were used on its own. A similar principle is used in the case of this umbrella, too. Given the area of the reflecting surface, the Bright Night will provide sufficient light to render a lantern useless. After all, when we’re out in the rain at night, holding a lantern in one hand and an umbrella in the other one is a bit tedious.
According to the manufacturer, the umbrella features an on/off switch that is conveniently located on the grip. The amount of light generated by the bulb is sufficient for seeing objects within a radius of 180cm (6 feet). On the other hand, the bulb is bright enough for others to see the umbrella from up to 30m (95 feet) away. That might attract attention both in a good and in a bad way, so if you’re getting one of these, test it out on a short walk first.
There are several different colors to choose from, so assorting the umbrella to your shoes shouldn’t be a problem. At 460 grams and 1,000mm wide × 910mm (40 by 36.4 inches) for adults and 920 wide × 810mm (36.8 by 32.4 inches) for children, the illuminated gadget is easy to carry around in a backpack or a purse. Besides the device itself, the price of 3,980 yen (about $40) includes a replacement bulb and a carrying case with a shoulder strap.
Unfortunately, the pictures that were made for promoting this product only feature one person. I would have loved to see an aerial shot of a crowd using such umbrellas, especially since they come in such different colors. You’ll have to agree with me that the effect would have been awesome.
If you liked this post, please check Lampbrella, the water activated street light umbrella, and the samurai sword umbrella.
