John Tse spent nearly a year turning a wild idea into hardware that actually works. The Canadian maker behind the YouTube channel I Build Stuff built a drone that looks like an ordinary yellow umbrella. It hovers above its user. It moves when the person moves. And it does all this without a remote or handle.
The Leap From Remote Control to True Autonomy
Back in 2024 Tse created a flying umbrella that drew plenty of attention. Viewers loved the concept yet pointed out one glaring flaw. It still required a handheld controller. “Impressive, but impractical,” many said, according to New Atlas. So Tse went back to the workshop. He set out to remove the human input entirely.
The result, detailed in his video and covered by Designboom on Jan. 13, 2026, relies on a time-of-flight depth camera mounted underneath the canopy. This sensor fires pulses of light. It measures how quickly they bounce back. The system builds a real-time 3D map of the space below. A Raspberry Pi crunches that data, locates the user’s head, and sends corrections to the flight controller. The umbrella adjusts its position to stay centered overhead. Simple in theory. Brutal in execution.
Tse started small. He constructed a scaled-down test drone first. Risking the full-size umbrella frame on every experiment would have been foolish. Early tracking attempts used regular cameras. They struggled with lighting. GPS came next. It drifted by meters. Only the depth camera delivered reliable 3D positioning, even in low light. “The project was not just about flying, since the creator already did that, but about following a person automatically,” Designboom quoted from his documentation.
Hardware demanded equal attention. Four propellers sit inside a custom frame made from carbon-fiber nylon and 3D-printed parts. The arms fold inward for storage. Hinges, rubber bands and locking plates keep everything stable in flight. A central hub connects the structure. Professional flight-controller electronics and an embedded GPS unit round out the package. Vibration isolation proved essential. So did reinforcement after multiple breaks and disconnected wires.
But. The system finally clicked. The umbrella hovers. It follows. It even operates in heavy rain. “It could hover, follow a person, and even fly in heavy rain. It was not perfect, but it worked,” Tse noted in the project summary carried by Designboom.
Technical Trade-offs and Real-World Limits
Success came with compromises. Wind pushes the device off course. Battery life restricts flight time. The rotors produce noticeable noise. Public reaction remains another variable. People may stare. Safety questions arise when a spinning machine flies above crowds. New Atlas, in its Jan. 31, 2026 coverage, highlighted these exact concerns after speaking with Tse and his collaborator, Stanford computer-science student Henson.
Still, the demonstrations impress. Videos show Tse walking through downpours. The yellow canopy stays mostly overhead. His hands swing free. No wet shoulders. No juggling an umbrella while carrying bags. The device even offers shade on sunny days. One moment captures him turning suddenly. The umbrella corrects course within seconds. Another shows it holding position while he jogs a short distance. Reliability has improved dramatically since the first prototype, which Tse described as barely flyable and in constant need of manual fixes, per Laughing Squid‘s Jan. 12, 2026 report.
Tse learned a broader lesson along the way. Obsessing over every detail can prevent finishing. “When we started this project, every single detail mattered,” he said in the video transcribed by Laughing Squid. Better to build something real, test it, then improve. That mindset carried the project across countless failures. Parts snapped. Software crashed. Rain shorted connections. Each setback produced data that informed the next iteration.
The work fits a pattern. Makers and engineers have chased personal drones for years. Most remain bulky, loud or limited. Tse’s approach disguises the technology inside a familiar object. The umbrella shape feels approachable. It hides the quadcopter mechanics under fabric. Four rotors provide lift and directional control exactly like any consumer drone. Yet the form factor invites smiles instead of suspicion.
Recent online conversation shows the idea still resonates. As recently as July 5 and 6, 2026, users on X shared clips and called the project “insane” or “brilliant.” One post noted the creator had become “INSANELY viral” on the platform, while another highlighted its potential for real-world use beyond rain. No commercial version exists yet. Tse has not announced sales or partnerships. The prototype stands as proof of concept. It demonstrates what determined iteration can achieve outside corporate labs.
Look closer and questions multiply. Could similar tracking pair with larger canopies for two people? Might solar panels on the fabric extend flight time? Could the same depth-sensing approach guide delivery drones that maintain safe distance from pedestrians? Tse’s project offers no answers. It simply shows the hardware can work today with off-the-shelf components and open-source thinking.
And the rain? It beads on the yellow fabric. The propellers keep spinning. The umbrella follows its maker down the sidewalk. Hands stay dry. The future of personal weather protection just got a little lighter. A little louder. And a lot more interesting.
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