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Writer's pictureFrederick Dopfel

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.


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