How would you like an umbrella that lets you know if you leave it behind? The Oombrella will send an alert to your phone if you walk off without it.
This feature is a useful idea, but what's even more exciting is that this umbrella also works as a portable weather station. There are four sensors embedded in the handle, collecting temperature, pressure, humidity, and light when you're out in the weather.
![French invention the Oombrella tells you when it's raining.](/web/20161008152708im_/http://www.smh.com.au/content/dam/images/g/r/v/x/g/r/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.grpeyp.png/1475701550248.jpg)
The Oombrella is designed by French company Wezzoo, and comes connected to its eponymous weather app , whichautomatically collects data from wherever the brolly is in real time. This information is shared with others using the app.
Smartphone alerts are also sent, reminding you to take the Oombrella with you if there's bad weather in your area. The brolly thus does the thinking for you. This may or may not be a good thing, but if you're always late running out the door, then these alerts are great.
Wezzoo was initially created as a crowdsourcing app where people manually enter and share their weather observations. The developers then created the Oombrella to automatically collect this information.
It was a great idea to create the app first and build up the users before introducing the hardware. There are already around 200,000 users in the Wezzoo community worldwide, but unfortunately for now not so many in Australia – mainly because it's only available on import.
Style wise, the Oombrella's canopy is like a thick, shiny, colourful bauble. You can see out of it, but people can't see in. UV protection means it can also be used as a parasol.
The developers in Paris are currently working on making the canopy thinner.
The Oombrella, and a collapsible bag sized version, will be available early next year in Australia and online for $116.