This Cycling Bottle Fills Up By Extracting Water From The Air

This Bottle Extracts Water From The Air While You Cycle
Fontus

What if you could go cycling with a bottle that never ran out of water?

That's the concept behind Fontus, a new prototype water bottle which can draw drinkable water from the air as you ride.

The idea itself isn't new - water-from-air machines have been around for at least 100 years. But their practical implementation on the small scale has remained elusive.

But now Kristof Retezár, an industrial design student at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna, says he might have cracked it.

His machine - a finalist for the 2014 Dyson award - uses thermoelectric cooling - pumping heat from one side to another - to condense the air. Powered by solar panels, the device pulls air inside, cools it and extracts the moisture.

The claim is that the bottle could produce up to half a litre of water an hour - depending on atmospheric conditions.

But therein lies the rub - perhaps. The machine really works best, according to the designer in an interview with HuffPost US, in hot and humid weather. In dry or cold conditions it's not so good - meaning than where water is needed most, the machine might not be as helpful.

Still the potential is there - Retezar says the machine costs between $25 and $40 to make, and could go even lower. If it works, you can see the impact it could have in everything from sports to the fight against water shortages around the world.

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