Engineers built a jacket that pulls drinking water from air

Engineers at the University of Texas have built a jacket that pulls drinking water out of the air, collecting up to one-and-a-half pints a day depending on humidity. The fabric absorbs moisture and funnels it to detachable harvesting units, which slot into a foldable collector and are heated to release the water. A study in Science Advances reported yields of 400 to 900 milliliters daily, a three- to tenfold improvement over conventional water-harvesting materials. "Water harvesting from air is usually imagined as a stationary device such as a box, a panel. We wanted to rethink the form," said research co-leader Professor Guihua Yu. The team designed a pathway moving water from vapor to liquid and into the textile, rather than building another bulky machine. They are now looking at backpacks, tents and emergency shelters. The plan, essentially, is to make the things people already carry quietly do a second job.