英學生髮明不變形擋風雨傘和智能花盆

On a rainy and blustery day it is not unusual to get soaking wet when wrestling with a troublesome brolly.

Now one young British designer thinks he has come up with the solution to this problem.

The enterprising student from Brunel University has created the unbreakable 'Brolli', which he says will stay upright in the stormiest of weather.

The gadget opens inside-out and looks like an upside-down umbrella. It opens over the top of people's heads and the ribs flex with the wind, stopping it from being bent out of shape in a gale.

The design also means that the water is queezed out as it is drawn back into its carrying tube, so you won't be soaked carrying it.

Simon Warne, 27, said: 'I originally came up with the idea of Brollii when I was in Paris standing in front of the Musee d'Orsay in a long queue.

'It started to pour with rain and became very gutsy. I watched as people struggled to open their umbrellas while being squashed by the crowd and getting poked from flailing umbrella ribs.

'I thought to myself, surely with new technology and materials there must be a better solution!'

Another innovative design comes from Natalie King, who has developed a plant pot that tells gardeners if there is something wrong with their flowers.

The electronic base of the pot is illuminated with a green light if all is well and turns red if it is too dry, hot or cold or if it’s too light or dark.

The 'Tulipe' also vibrates when picked up if it has a red light on.

The 22-year-old designer said she was inspired by her grandfather who has an age-related sight condition.

'It was designed for people like him,' she said.

'It encourages the gardener to interact with their plant. When the base turns red, one doesn't know if the plant is thirsty, or too cold and you have to try out the options until it turns green.

Both the Brolli and the Tulipe will be on display with some other 250 designs at the annual Made in Brunel showcase run by graduating Brunel University design and engineering students.

遇上颳風下雨的天氣，如果還要和不好用的雨傘較勁，那把你弄個渾身溼透也很正常。

如今，英國一名年輕設計師認爲他找到了解決這個問題的辦法。

這名來自布魯內爾大學的富有創造精神的學生髮明瞭一種“堅不可摧”的雨傘。據他介紹，這種傘能經得住任何風雨天氣的考驗。

這種傘由裏向外打開後，看上去就像一把被倒置的普通雨傘。雨傘在人的頭頂上撐開，傘骨柔韌性好，在大風天氣不會被吹變形。

而且這款雨傘在收起來時，傘筒能將傘面上的水擠出去，人在拿着它的時候不會被弄溼。

這款雨傘的設計者、27歲的西蒙•沃恩說：“我的這一想法源於我在巴黎的奧賽博物館前排長隊的經歷。”

“當時天下起了雨，而且越下越大，人們費勁地在人羣中撐開雨傘，還不時地被別人支楞着的傘骨戳到。”

“當時我就想，用新的技術和某些材料一定能解決這個問題。”

另一個創意設計來自娜塔麗•金，她發明了一種能讓主人知道盆栽植物生活環境是否正常的花盆。

這款花盆帶有一個電子基座，當植物生活環境一切正常時，這個基座會亮綠燈，當植物缺水、溫度過高或過低或陽光太強或太弱時，指示燈就會顯示紅色。

當紅燈亮時，人們拿起Tulipe花盆，它還會發出震動。

這位22歲的設計師說，她之所以產生這一想法，主要是受到她因年邁而視力下降的祖父的啓發。

她說：“這種花盆就是爲了像他一樣的人設計的。”

“這種花盆可以讓主人與他們種植的植物進行互動。當底座亮紅燈時，你可能還不能判斷植物究竟是缺水、還是溫度太低，所以就得一個個地去試，直到它變綠。”

西蒙的雨傘和娜塔莉的Tulipe花盆將與其他250個設計作品在布魯內爾大學設計和工程系畢業生舉辦的一年一度的“布魯內爾新發明”展覽上展出。

Vocabulary:

blustery: 大風的