The Rain Shield, a Red Dot award winner, designed by Taiwanese students Lin Min-Wei and Liu Li-Hsiang, puts a clever spin on the conventional umbrella. Most umbrellas are designed with only rain drops in mind, ignoring the effect that wind has on the direction that rain falls. The shield-like umbrella is formed with a single curved steel wire and a telescopic rod, has no pointed ends or sharp edges, and it won’t blow inside out in windy conditions. It’s shield-like shape is much easier to handle in the wind and is completely collapsable. Unlike a typical umbrella, the Rain Shield folds and compresses easily into a 180-millimetre-diameter disc so that can it can be stored flat in a bag or briefcase. Although working prototypes have been built, the umbrella is not currently for sale. See a video of how it works below.
(Via enpundit)
