Lighting Trends

While much of the East coast was battered by a terrible ice storm last Friday, Boston was only hit with a heavy rain. It could have been a lot worse! Considering many residents are expected to be without power for much of this week, I guess being close to the water was our saving grace!


While the storm is on my mind, I thought I would do a little weather-related post today. The LightDrop umbrella is a cool concept by Sang-Kyun Park. When rain drops hit the LightDrop's conductive membrane (called a PDVF), LED lights embedded in the umbrella illuminate, helping to light your way through the storm. The harder the rain falls, the brighter the light.

This is a cool concept, but I wish there was a way to turn on the light manually - for instance, what if it's really dark out but just drizzling...or snowing? Maybe I'm the only one who uses an umbrella in the snow - I don't know. I would also worry about high winds. This seems like it could be an expensive umbrella to replace if the wind turns it inside out! Here's hoping for a kind and gentle winter. Lights out until next time! - Via Yanko Design/Photos via Yanko Design

If you liked this post, then you might also enjoy these posts:

• Liquid Lighting by Daniel Becker & Charles Kalpakian
• Solar and Wind Powered Street Light by Philips