Beat the Summer Heat With This Drone Umbrella

I have a strong dislike for umbrellas. I don’t like adding to the weight of my already heavy bag. I don’t like having to hold the umbrella up with one hand and struggling with the rest of my things with the other. Of course, when it pours or when the sun gets so hot it burns, I find myself (sometimes) regretting not bringing an umbrella.

If you’re like me, or you especially dislike having to actually hold the umbrella up, then this drone umbrella is the answer to your “problems”.

Technically, it’s a parasol (so it’s not waterproof), so you can only use it to protect your skin from the sun’s harmful rays. The manufacturer of this nifty drone umbrella, Asahi Power Service, says it plans to make a waterproof version in the future.

In the meantime, we have to wait for the drone umbrella to actually go into production. Right now, it’s at the prototype stage, with the prototype weighing 11 pounds. I know, right? Plus, it can only fly for 20 minutes on a single charge. That’s not really exciting, but…

Asahi plans to bring down the weight of the drone umbrella to 2 pounds (about the weight of a laptop) and up the flight time to one hour.

To sweeten the deal, in addition to having your hands free while you walk around in the hot sun, the drone umbrella does more than hover above your head. It also serves as fan, blowing a nice cool breeze down.

The Free Parasol should be out by 2019.