There’s a reason why you don’t buy expensive umbrellas. At some point, it’s going to end up left behind, lost, or taken by someone during a rainy afternoon who doesn’t bother bringing it back. Not the case with the Davek Alert, an umbrella that pairs with your phone, so it can automatically alert you any time it’s out of range.
Armed with a Bluetooth chip hidden inside the handle, the umbrella is able to keep in constant contact with your phone, serving as a proximity signal to ensure it’s still within the vicinity. Once the phone no longer sees the signal, it activates the app, which alerts you that the umbrella is no longer within close proximity.
Don’t worry, using the Davek Alert Umbrella doesn’t mean adding another contraption to the list of gadgets you regularly keep charged. That’s because it uses a replaceable coin cell battery for power, a single one of which should last it up to two years at a time. To pair the umbrella with your phone, just download the app, hold it near the phone for a minute, and wait until it automatically connects. From there, you just use it like a regular umbrella.
Since a high-tech umbrella won’t be much use if it gets damaged during a day of really bad weather, the Davek Alert is built for durability, boasting a solid steel shaft, aircraft-grade aluminum frame with flexible carbon ligaments, a 190-thread microweave fabric canopy, and triple-sewn rib tips. It comes with a single button on the handle that opens and closes the umbrella. Oh yeah, if the frame ever inverts, simply push the same button to close it and the umbrella will self-correct.
A Kickstarter campaign is currently running to fund the Davek Alert Umbrella. Pledges to reserve a unit starts at $99. Now, if they can only make a version of this umbrella that looks like lettuce, life will be complete.