Methodical Madness Shades People

So, we've finalized that we are going to build a modular Solar Umbrella, as explained here, but with a few different properties.

Instead of being used for personal shading, the umbrellas will lattice to form a shaded walkway by day, and lit walkways at night without shading. Multiple umbrellas would be linked to each other by some sort of radio/bluetooth. The links would be utilized to light up specific paths at night with different lights in large parks, where someone can be at a stand, interact with a screen to define where she wants to go, and then follow the lit path to get there. This would not only create a safe environment, but be useful to people who do not have maps at night. It could also be migrated to a more suburban environment and sidewalk routes. This interaction creates the 'surface', as multiple umbrellas would interact to form a map.

Construction of the umbrellas would be modular, so that there could be in-between umbrellas without the more expensive touch-screen interface, that would still be of the same construction. There are other interesting ramifications to the modular assembly we are developing, but that will not be discussed until later on.

We will try to produce concept art with our white paper tonight.

In other news, Neil is back, no longer quarantined with the sickness.