Smart Umbrella Stand

Despite the drought, it still occasionally rains in San Francisco. The rain's sparsity only makes it harder to remember an umbrella, so after the last unexpected rain, I decided to dust off my old umbrella and build an umbrella holder that could help prevent another soaked day at work. Because the holder only had to display two states: "Will rain" or "will not rain," I decided to use LittleBits' Internet-connected CloudBit as the brain of the device. An IFTTT recipe sends an "on" command to the CloudBit (connected via Wi-Fi) which then applies current through an electroluminescent "light wire" in one of the umbrella-shaped cutouts of the holder. When rain is expected, the umbrella glows a blue-green. When no rain is expected, the symbol looks like unlit frosted glass.