Ever find yourself without an umbrella in the middle of a downpour? You aren’t alone. A number of people aren’t prepared for the unpredictable weather of Pittsburgh. Even though there have been several initiatives to create the communal umbrellas, many of them failed due to the large number of lost or returned umbrellas.
Brello is a umbrella sharing service with stations at the entrance of buildings. A user can subscribe to the model and have the flexibility to take out or return an umbrella at multiple spots depending on their convenience.
There are two ways the umbrellas connects individuals and creates a sense of community:
Users can also light up their umbrellas as a sign that they are willing to share their umbrella with others who may not have one.
When users with Brellos approach each other, the person that presses the button on umbrella first will get a point in his/her app. Through gamification, the Brello is transitioned into a media to connect the users in a fun way.
In the case an umbrella is lost, the app can trigger the beacons of all close umbrellas to identify missing umbrellas.
A FOB is used to unlock the umbrella. This can also be accomplished with an optional mobile app.
