While the picture above looks like that of a traditional Japanese umbrella, it's actually modified to become a loudspeaker. Called Oto-Shigure, this umbrella (which is probably not made of just oiled paper and bamboo like ordinary traditional ones) was developed by IT company Toa Engineering and Keio University. The inventors Mai Tanaka and Yusuke Kamiyama worked on a prototype this year after filing a patent application last 2007.

The whole umbrella produces sounds through a minute integrated amplifier and, if you look at the illustration after the cut, through four vibrating motors incorporated into the edges. The system forms what creators call a three-dimensional "sound space" inside the umbrella. That means the sound the system gives off can only be heard by people directly underneath it, according to Pink Tentacle. So basically, you can go around with your umbrella without most people actually knowing that it's a speaker; at least that's the ideal scenario. The manufacturers are currently gauging people's interest in Oto-Shigure, and in case everything goes well, it will be available next year for $100 per.