As soon as I saw the first picture of this unique umbrella, I knew my boy Devan would get a kick out it. The Pileus is an umbrella connected to the Internet to make walking in rainy days fun. Pileus has a large screen on the top surface, a built-in camera, a motion sensor, GPS, and a digital compass. The current prototype has two main functions: photo-sharing and 3D map navigation. The photo function is connected to a major web service: Flickr API. A user can take photo with a camera on the umbrella, and pictures are uploaded to Flickr in two minutes with context tags via a wireless Internet connection. User can also enjoy theirselves watching photo-streams downloaded from Flickr with simple operation of wrist snapping.
It also has a function of 3D Map. Detecting a location data from GPS, it shows a 3D bird view around the user. User can walk-through a city comparing the 3D views and real sights, and the map is always updated by GPS and a digital compass. It aims to create natural augmented reality with a large informatin screen on the umbrella. These two functions can be switched by simply fliping a switch. As a future direction of its development, putting a context data on the Internet (e.g. geo-tags on photos), it will be able to provide social local-navigations and real-time in-place communications. The product aims to provide an augmentation of everyday life synchronizing information on the Internet and the real place. Just don’t walk around without looking where your going.
