New Atlas

Wearables Audio available

Wearable could keep you cool when the office gets hot

Paul Ridden May 21, 2019

Engineers from the University of California San Diego have developed a proof-of-concept armband that can keep the wearer's skin at a constant temperature, even when the ambient temperature is raised or lowered. And the technology is being scaled up to vest size.

The UC San Diego engineers reckon that a scaled up version of the technology could help ...

Materials Audio available

Squid-inspired material keeps the heat – or loses it

Ben Coxworth April 29, 2019

Squids, octopi and cuttlefish are able to change the color of their skin thanks to specialized cells known as chromatophores. Scientists have now replicated the manner in which those cells work, resulting in a flexible material that can either trap or release heat as needed.

Alon Gorodetsky and Erica Leung, with a sample of the material

Materials

Refrigerants not required: Flexible metal cooling prototype demonstrates extreme efficiency

Loz Blain March 12, 2019

A German research team has prototyped an extraordinary heating/cooling system that stresses and unloads nickel-titanium "muscle wires" to create heated and cooled air at twice the efficiency of a heat pump or three times the efficiency of an air conditioner.

The prototype heating/cooling system uses the remarkable properties of shape-memory nitinol metals for environmentally friendly cooling ...

Bicycles Audio available

Heated saddle puts cyclists in the hot seat

Ben Coxworth February 26, 2019

If you're a winter cyclist, then you'll know how off-putting it can be to press your butt down onto an ice-cold saddle. Slovenian inventor Drago Beravs is out to remedy that situation, with his heated Sweet Saddle.

The Sweet Saddle is powered by a hard-wired battery pack, carried in a separate frame bag

Outdoors

Car-powered shower puts users in hot water

Ben Coxworth June 6, 2018

If you're dirty and sweaty from performing an outdoor activity, it's understandable that you don't want to drive home that way. Wouldn't it be nice if you could take a hot shower first? Well, the portable Geyser System lets you do so – depending on how you define the word "shower."

Outdoors

Ravean's heated gloves and mittens smash early Kickstarter goals

Rich Haridy February 18, 2018

Ravean has been producing different self-heating outdoor accessories for several years now, from vests and hoodies to sleeping bag liners. Now the company is developing a battery-powered heated glove with a recent Kickstarter launch exceeding its goals just days after it went live.

The Ravean heated glove comes with all the standard heated glove technology at a cheaper price ...

Outdoors

Heat up food anywhere with this flameless silicone cooker

Rich Haridy January 16, 2018

For years, the military has been using simple chemical-based heating systems as a way to quickly warm prepackaged rations. Now the YABUL Cook translates such systems into a light-weight silicone device that is foldable and easy to transport.

YABUL Cook is a neat, portable flameless cooking system

Good Thinking

Aircon Watch promises to keep you cool around the clock

Nick Lavars September 17, 2017

Can you control your whole body's temperature by heating or cooling just one small part of it? It seems a little far-fetched, but the makers of the Aircon Watch certainly believe you can, and if their early crowdfunding success in anything to go by, they are far from alone.

Military

Heatable electric fabric could keep soldiers warm and dry

David Szondy August 22, 2017

Keeping safe and comfortable in arctic conditions is a precarious balancing act, so scientists from Stanford University and the US Army Natick Soldier Research, Development & Engineering Center are working on energized fabrics that heat up when powered, yet wick away sweat and dry easily.

High-tech fabric intended for gloves and other military clothing contains silver nanowires that could be heated ...

Outdoors

PolarSeal top keeps the cold at bay with two heated zones

Scott Collie August 8, 2017

It can be hard to leave the comfort of a heated home when winter arrives, but humans can't hibernate forever. Fillony wants to make it easier to brave the elements. We've seen heated clothes before, but Fillony thinks it has taken the breed to new places with multi-zone heating.