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Beetle-Inspired Bottle Harvests Drinking Water From Thin Air
For over one hundred years, scientists and engineers have been studying ways to effectively harvest fog as a source of water in arid regions. Although some of these man-made systems have proved useful, the plants and insects that inhabit deserts are far more efficient dew collectors. One ingenious bug known as the “fog beetle” collects drinking water by perching in an opportune position that allows dew droplets to collect in ridges on its back. Seeing this, designer Pak Kitae developed an ingenious biomimicking Dew Bank bottle that could provide hydration to millions of people that lack accessible drinking water.
In the morning, the bottle’s ribbed stainless steel dome becomes colder than the air, forming dew drops that slide over the shell and into a channel circling the base. Each day, the Fog Beetle can collect enough water to match 40% of its body weight. Kitae’s suggests that his bottle could collect at least enough for one glass of thirst quenching water.
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