A new method of condensing water from the air will ensure cyclists will never run out of hydration while biking.
Kristof Retezár, an industrial design student at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna, has come up with a way to collect and condense moisture from the air while cycling. The water then fills up a bottle attached to the bike, according to Huffington Post.
The prototype was a finalist for the international James Dyson Award.
Fontus, named after the Roman god of springs, works by thermoelectric cooling. When the air is pushed through the device during cycling, the hot, humid air cools and the water is extracted. "Powered by solar cells, it can harvest up to 0,5 l water in an hour´s time under the right climatic conditions," according to Retezár.
The device works best in temperatures over 68 degrees Fahrenheit with humidity over 50 percent. In the right conditions, Fontus can produce a drop of water per minute, according to Huffington Post.
Currently, the prototype does not have a purification system, so dirty air will make dirty water, but Retezár said the device does have filters to eliminate dust from the water, according to Huffington Post.
Retezár said the prototype cost between $25 and $40 and he hopes for Fontus to be more than a bike accessory.
"According to UN statistics, more than 2 billion people in more than 40 countries live in regions with water scarcity," Retezár wrote on the award site. "In 2030, 47 percent of the world´s population will be living in areas of high water stress ... Every measure to ease this upcoming crisis is a welcome one ... The Earth's atmosphere contains around 13.000 km3 of mostly unexploited freshwater. This project is an attempt to discover these resources."
