Street Lamps that Protect you from the Rain

Still at a prototype stage the latest in street furniture is a street lamp fitted with an umbrella. This innovative design features a street lamp fitted with an electric motor and an umbrella. The umbrella is designed to sense rain and open automatically providing shelter for several people at a time.

European weather can be extremely unpredictable. It may be foggy in the morning, stormy at lunchtime and fine in the evening. Mikhall Belyaev’s practical design avoids the need to either carry an umbrella or risk the possibility of getting drenched.

What is the Lampbrella?

The lampbrella consists of a lamp post fitted with a rain-sensing umbrella. The sensors on the umbrella detect when there is rainfall and open up the umbrella canopy in responses to it providing shelter to pedestrians. In addition to the rain sensor the street lamp is also fitted with a 360 degree motion sensor which detects if anyone is using the Lampbrella. The canopy shuts if no movement is detected for 3 minutes.

With a diameter of 2.2 metres (7ft 2 inches each) and positioned 2 metres (6 ft 5 inches) above the ground to avoid injury to all but the very tallest of pedestrians it is large enough to provide shelter for several people at a time. It is anticipated that the umbrella would be programmed to open at relatively low speeds in order to prevent injury to passersby. The Lampbrella would also be grounded to protect it from alighting strike.

Singing in the Rain or Under a Lampbrella

The street lamp, which is constructed from fibreglass, has yet to achieve mass production. However, Belyaev continues to be passionate about the impact his design could have on society, arguing that many pedestrians use streets where there is little or no shelter.