RainProof

What it does

RainProof doesn't avoid the rain. It is an innovative platform that combines technologies to suck rain, purify and evaporate it. Beyond a simple umbrella, it proposes a convenient and comfortable lifestyle with design identity optimized for urban life.

Your inspiration

I'm very used to heavy rain but the dripping rain, slippery hallway, and the wet umbrella leaning awkwardly are a familiar yet very uncomfortable experience. To prevent potential accidents, we continue to clean the floor or cover the umbrella, but we are still not free from environmental or other issues. That is why I came up with a solution that completely blocks the rain. To be free from the rain, I eliminated the fabric, and designed an absorbent material to prevent the water flowing. With RainProof, you no longer have to worry about raindrops or being careful not to drip water indoors. You can just turn off and put RainProof in your bag

How it works

RainProof is a simple but has a stable and stylish nonagon shape cylinder design. When holds the handle, use buttons to adjusts intensity of RainProof according to the amount of rain. With the power on, hold device comfortably at your elbow height. RainProof is designed as 560mm length to be above the head when a human is comfortably holding it at elbow level. The air inlet activated at head level begins to suck rain at the surrounding area. It absorbs rainwater within a radius of 75-80cm. The rainwater got into the device passes through a sediment filter and a carbon filter, and is purified into the cleanest water possible. Since the rainwater is purified, it blocks the unpleasant odor that the user may feel while vaporizing and after use. The purified water flows into the evaporator and passes through a wire-type PTC heating element. The evaporator part of the case is made of lightweight titanium to prevent any discomfort caused by heat and weight.

Design process

The initial design direction was 'minimize the moisture on the umbrella'. To minimize the moisture, I made a rotating electronic umbrella with 10 strings of 50cm around it. This prototype couldn't block the rainwater much and had a critical problem that it could be very dangerous to people near it. I made a faster and more stable second prototype by placing wider cloths and using a higher performance motor with 120,000 RPM, and it was able to effectively block rainwater. However, it wasn't enough to minimize the moisture stayed on the umbrella. So I decided to change the design direction altogether. The initial design of RainProof was a general umbrella that discharged collected rainwater through a central inlet. I tried to attach small umbrella at the top of the cylinder to block the rain around user and store water in the internal tank, but the weight of the water tank increased, making it inconvenient to use. As a result, the finally improved RainProof version was completely redefined in the direction of 'eliminating' rainwater, and was designed with a structure with a handle, battery, control buttons, air inlet, sediment filter, carbon filter, and an evaporator, presenting the optimal solution that satisfies the innovative rainwater removal function and modern design.

How it is different

RainProof is the first to change the way to 'avoid' rain since the first umbrella was introduced in the 18th century. Conventional umbrellas are effective at blocking rain, but their design has not changed much since they were introduced, and they leave problems during and after use unattended and create new problems. However, RainProof is a combination of technologies that allows users to simply hold it and suck up rainwater, thereby 'blocking' all additional problems that may arise from rainwater. It breaks the fixed idea of 'opening' an umbrella and approaches it as a smart device like a smartphone or a watch. It completely eliminates the cloths that is necessary for an umbrella, and opens up a new world by solving everything in a one cylinder. Also RainProof can be used for a lifetime by simply replacing filters. The filters are biodegradable. I believe the most environmental friendly item is the one does not need to be thrown away.

Future plans

First, to improve user convenience, I plan to develop a smartphone app that allows users to monitor the battery, the water tank, and the filter in real time. In addition, I plan to design several types of replaceable air inlet taps to respond to various climate conditions, thereby expanding the range of possible responses. The next step is to continue to improve the inlet and evaporator device to cover more rain, be more comfortable, and operate with less noise. RainProof’s ultimate goal is to further develop the rainwater suction and vaporization technology into disaster equipment that can be used in places where heavy rain damage occurs.

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