Researchers from the University of Texas have revealed a new jacket that could help wearers better survive desert conditions. The wearable tech (and it is tech) allows for up to 900ml of moisture to be collected each day, simply by wearing the item.
That’s not enough to keep you completely independent of taps and streams, but it’ll help extend your chances while lost. Or adventure racing. Or roaming the surface of Mars, we guess.
Jacket potato
The university’s invention produces actual, drinkable water, but it remains at the mercy of the surrounding humidity. The jacket collects between 400 and 900ml of fluid a day, thanks to special fibres that live inside detachable pockets. Surrounding air transfers moisture into them and, once they’re full, they can be removed and sipped from.
According to one of the researchers, the system is “a pathway for water to move quickly, from vapor in the air, to liquid on the fiber surface, and then into the textile. That transport design is what allows the material to work not just in a small lab test, but in a wearable system.”
It’s more like the Fremen’s windtrap solution in Frank Herbert’s Dune series and far, far less like the iconic stillsuit. For starters, there’s no bodily moisture reclamation. It was born from the same group’s work on an award-winning product called AirGel. This also condenses water from the air. This jacket-borne innovation is just designed to be worn rather than just sitting there.
The group envisions the wearable’s use in arid regions around the world, “including parts of North Africa, the Middle East, South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.” But don’t get too excited about your new water-creating overwear yet. The University of Texas has filed a patent application for the material, but there’s no sign of anything like a product rollout. Yet.
