UmbraCity have designed a fully automated kiosk, that allows anyone to borrow an umbrella when they need one, and it’s free, as long as you return it within 48 hours. The first 4 kiosks have been installed at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada.
To get an umbrella, you sign up online, then scan your card (student id) at one the self-serving kiosks that allows you to borrow an RFID fitted umbrella for 48 hours without paying.
When you’re finished, you simply return the umbrella to the kiosk for someone else to use it. If you have the umbrella for more than 48 hours, you are charged $2 for each additional day, up to a maximum of $20.
You can watch a YouTube video of it in action – here.