Photos: YouTuber builds ‘flying umbrella’ drone that hovers above humans in the rain

A YouTube inventor behind the channel I Build Stuff has developed a drone-powered umbrella, called Flying Umbrella 2.0, that autonomously hovers above and follows a person in the rain. After nearly a year of development and overcoming numerous technical challenges, the inventor created a hands-free umbrella that tracks the user in real time without manual control. The key innovation in version 2.0 is the use of a time-of-flight camera mounted beneath the umbrella, which generates a detailed 3D map of the surroundings by measuring the phase shift of reflected light. This depth data is processed by a Raspberry Pi computer, which calculates the user’s position and adjusts the drone’s propellers to maintain stable, smooth tracking. Portability and stability were also major hurdles addressed in the design. The drone arms are made from foldable carbon fiber nylon, allowing the umbrella to fit into a small backpack while locking firmly in place during flight. Early tests used a separate drone frame with GPS to fine-tune motor