The end of the humble umbrella?

23 October 2014 - 02:29 By @The Daily Telegraph
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A Chinese inventor is seeking funding for an invention, which he hopes will spell the end of fabric umbrellas.

The "air umbrella" is an ambitious design that relies on a "force field of air" to deflect the rain.

The wand-like device is powered by a lithium battery with a motor mounted above. This operates a rotating fan at the top, which draws air in at the bottom and then expels it from the top at high pressure.

This forms a protective layer of air above the user, though the person walking alongside may get hit by the spray.

At its base is a button that turns it on and off, while the bottom can also twist to change the pressure of the air.

The project launched on crowdfunding website Kickstarter at the end of last month and has raised $85930 so far, with four days to go until fund-raising ends.

Inventor Chuan Wang, from Nanjing, China, had originally hoped to raise $10000.

He developed the design with the help of postgraduates from the aeronautics departments at Nanjing and Beijing universities.

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