A group of scientists has created a water bottle that can fill itself by harvesting water from the air. It is thought that a concept such as this could be one way to help some of the huge number of people around the world with limited access to clean drinking water.
The yet-to-be-seen bottle was inspired by the Namib Desert Beetle, which has a shell covered in bumps that allows humidity to gradually accumulate until droplets form. The droplets roll down the beetle’s back and directly into its mouth (this kind of happens to my face in yoga), which allows the beetle to survive in environments where there is limited ground water.
The researchers at NBD Nano have mimicked the beetle’s shell in the water bottle design, which they hope to have on the market by 2014.
“We see this being applicable to anything from marathon runners to people in third-world countries,†said Deckard Sorensen, NBD Nano co-founder. “We realize that water is such a large issue in the world today, and we want to try to alleviate those problems with a cost-efficient solution.â€
Would you try a water bottle that collects water droplets from the air? Do you think this will catch on and prove to be useful in areas with limited drinking water?
Also,  you may be interested to know that there is a wind turbine that is able to produce water from desert air?
Image: Moongateclimber/Wikipedia Commons via NBD Nano
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