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Autonomous flying umbrella follows and shields users from rain and sunlight

(www.designboom.com)

IMO it's worth watching the video rather than reading someone's writeup of it. My favorite part is this (written) list of everything that went wrong [1] ... and how much of it is due to the intersection of hardware, software, vendors, and linux

[1] https://youtu.be/EYRrUiM_A6g?si=T60tAChuo-GNtfqW&t=921

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> and how much of it is due to the intersection of hardware, software, vendors, and linux

They should have used Apple hardware.

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I saw this on Facebook before I saw it here. While it bears a superficial resemblance to 1000s of clickbaity tech stunts this one really delighted me. Some of these should be edited into a remastered release of Blade Runner.
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I think this is in the category of excess application of technology
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I don't know - I got an automatic garbage can that not only opens and closes, it also ejects the garbage bag when it is full and vacuums in another one into place.

today's luxury is tomorrow's necessity.

things get normalized. pop-up ads, selfies, subscriptions, the cybertruck...

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On the other hand, I used to have an automatic open garbage can. Absolutely hated it. Ended up replacing with a foot operated one. The benefits were:

* Never ran out of batteries

* Didn't rely on an IR sensor that would work about 80% of the time, but would sometimes require waving more than once to get it to open.

* Didn't have a delicate gearing mechanism (automatic one eventually stripped a gear and broke).

* No set open time. God forbid you throw something in, turn to the counter and throw a second thing in...

* large lid, since it relies on foot power, not a motor / battery can only realistically open a certain weight lid.

My inlaws also have an automatic one -- last time I visited I saw that they also suffered from the stripped gear issue...

I wish public restrooms used foot-operated faucets instead of the existing "wave frantically for 3 seconds of water" sensors they have.

I am jealous of the auto-seal garbage bag option, but I am skeptical about long term reliability.

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> today's luxury is tomorrow's necessity

Indeed, see stuff like fridges, cars, phones, internet access...

> pop-up ads, selfies, subscriptions, the cybertruck...

None of these are a luxury, or ever was; in a way, they are the opposite.

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pop-up ads - existence depends on surplus technology, electricity, and global communications networks. - not required for food, shelter, water, or survival.

ergo luxury

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I think there is some middle category between “required for survival” and “luxury”.
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you got me, I am deadly afraid of the world in which any of these become a necessity
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consider captain america, perhaps an autonomous flying riot shield that protects, and strikes out.
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Following the Ukraine war has basically made me flinch at the sight and sound of drones.
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Next: why carry a phone or laptop when you can have a flying desk?
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That's cute. They need to be able to deal with other flying umbrellas nearby, if this is to be a product, of course.

This would probably sell in Shenzhen.

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And drenches them in sound
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tangent: ridiculous that a site called designbloom has such an atrocious user experience. popovers, things that take over your reading space, and just general shiftiness all over the page that's unrelated to the content you are reading.
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The kid would appear to have a future job opportunity at Cyberdyne Systems.
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Bonus: free hairdryer!
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noise, autonomy are real constraints. And the wind resistance is a safety critical issue. To make it wind resistant you need to increase the drone's power/weight ratio which works against battery life/autonomy and weight (more battery, more weight) This is a nice technical experiment but cannot work as a general public product in my opinion (I build drones since 2013 and know this topic in depth)
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That's really cool honestly. This took me back to around 2017 when everyone was into hardware startups.
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Interesting, not what I remember from 2017. To which hardware startups are you referring?
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One example of the peak of that craziness was in 2016, after Snapchat released glasses with an embedded camera, which were more or less received as as a gimmick by their user base, Snapchat changed their name to Snap Inc and told their investors that they're now a hardware company.
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Well that was the peak of the kickstarter era, tons of wearables and new projects. You know, like Pebble
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Or the Nixie [1] (actually nixie was earlier, but went out of business in 2017)

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nixie_Labs_Nixie

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what about hydrogen or helium to extend battery life?
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Good for a haircut too.
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Yeah, I can only imagine the stability when breezy weather hits that big sail
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>what was supposedly a small project ended up big and complicated

Welcome to the drone world! So many moving parts and one tiny mistake, you end up losing a $60k drone in the ocean (true story!)

That being said, regulations prevent flying drones of any size above people, unless the drone is high to certain altitude, because of all the dangers that bring, a small issues and the props will harm them.

Cool project tho!

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Better than losing the expense vehicle prototype and the pilot as well.
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