英国布鲁内尔大学生之新发明

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

遇上刮风下雨的天气，如果还要和不好用的雨伞较劲，那把你弄个浑身湿透也很正常。

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Simon Warne with his 'unbreakable' umbrella(Above). Natalie King(below him) with her interactive plant pot.

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（竖立，垂直） in the stormiest of weather.

The gadget²（小玩意，小器具） opens inside-out and looks like an upside-down umbrella. It opens over the top of people's heads and the ribs³（肋骨，排骨） flex⁴ with the wind, stopping it from being bent⁵ out of shape in a gale⁶（大风，狂风） .

The design also means that the water is queezed out as it is drawn⁷ back into its carrying tube, so you won't be soaked（湿透的） carrying it.

Simon Warne, 27, said: 'I originally came up with the idea of Brollii when I was in Paris standing⁸ 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（压扁， 压碎） by the crowd and getting poked⁹ from flailing¹⁰ umbrella ribs.

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

Another innovative¹¹ 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 illuminated¹² 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.