Comments on: Competition to design a hydrophilic, self-filling water-bottle

By: Antinous / Moderator

Antinous / Moderator — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 06:36:00 +0000

They’re monks. I had the men’s version in both black and brown from Bass(?) Now I have Kenneth Cole double monks in black.

By: cdh1971

cdh1971 — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 05:52:00 +0000

Yes, they’re great shoes. I have a guy’s version of these – brand is Mezlan – only they’re flat soled.

I did an image search for ‘ironic pilgrim’ and these were the first hit, and they’re for sale on Etsy. Here’s the link:

http://www.etsy.com/listing/113231834/40-off-sale-brown-leather-hipster

By: Charlie B

Charlie B — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 00:54:00 +0000

I WANT THOSE SHOES.

but i am attempting to be highly irony-resistant your mileage may vary

Edit: Thank you cdh1971 & Antinous!

By: SamSam

SamSam — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 01:01:00 +0000

But what profits? Does the MIT competition imply anywhere that their plan is to market this for $$$$, or are they going to make the plans open source and allow entrepreneurs in any water-lacking country to build them themselves?

By: Paul Cooke

Paul Cooke — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 08:49:00 +0000

Ideal tech for putting into de-humidifiers… would only need a fan to pull the air through the device and no longer require the compressors and heat exchange plates to make the cold plate for the vapour to freeze on like they currently do…

By: Robert

Robert — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 06:29:00 +0000

I hear they work best when there are lots of people around. In an enclosed space. Preferably breathing hard.

By: Itsumishi

Itsumishi — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 21:16:00 +0000

Combine it with this!

By: Daniel Ewing

Daniel Ewing — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 16:45:00 +0000

A percentage based award for the winner seems appropriate. The winning designer could participate in the ‘saving the world’ thing, if that is indeed what the contest designers intend, or the get a piece of the windfall of profits if that’s the path they take.

By: Hans

Hans — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 16:03:00 +0000

I think the challenge, for human consumption, will be keeping it contaminant free. Still, an interesting technology.

If I were to put my bet on feasible future applications, I bet drip agriculture or a gmo plant which has these built into its leaves.

By: beforewepost

beforewepost — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 15:58:00 +0000

Since it’s water, it would be ionic.

By: Paul Renault

Paul Renault — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 14:16:00 +0000

On top of that, the metric is a little daunting: if the area is arid, say less than 25% RH, it’ll be much less efficient at collecting water – probably so much so that water sticking to the hydrophilic areas will probably evaporate before it’s collected.

The winning device will probably work really well in humid areas (where other means can/do work much more efficiently – say nets to collect fog in mountainous areas or inverse osmosis water filters if you’re on the sea).

/This “We own any submitted entry” has always kept me out of contests…

By: squeeziecat

squeeziecat — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 13:16:00 +0000

Tank Girl time!

By: Oliver Lang

Oliver Lang — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 11:50:00 +0000

Free drinks for life?

Ironic.

By: Peter Erwin

Peter Erwin — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 11:49:00 +0000

“MIT has launched a competition to improve on the design.”

Really? From what I can tell, one of the founders is a grad student at MIT; otherwise, there doesn’t seem to be any connection with MIT at all.

By: Jim Saul

Jim Saul — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 09:24:00 +0000

While that does seem low for a prize amount, there are probably some significant economic rewards beyond the seed prize money in line for the winners.

There’s also the whole “saving the world” thing. I bet one could get laid for having that on their bio. And get free drinks for life.

Yeah, the more I think about it, I’d expect someone with a really innovative improvement to patent before disclosing their design to the contest.

By: cdh1971

cdh1971 — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 09:18:00 +0000

If I possessed this bottle, I would be very, very, careful about demonstrating it in certain hip neighbourhoods in Portland, Oregon, which is just up the road from me, especially when I drive real fast.

Demonstrating this vessel in these certain hip neighbourhoods would risk being burnt at the stake by groups of ironic puritans.

By: ldobe

ldobe — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 06:35:00 +0000

You can waste time with your friends when your chores are done. Now come on. Get to it ;-]

By: Charlie B

Charlie B — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 04:43:00 +0000

One of the slashdot commenters pointed out that the Irish have a similar device that magically gathers water directly from the air and concentrates it in a bottle for later use. They call it a “funnel”. Doesn’t work in deserts, but great in the UK.

By: David Davion

David Davion — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 04:27:00 +0000

A measly $2500 prize for a competition that expects you to have skills in Materials Engineering, Product Design, Electrical Engineering, Marketing and CAD? Not to mention they get to use *everybody’s* product’s ideas, not just the most presentable ones.

All materials used must be 100% recyclable (Materials Engineering)Using the metric of 3L/m^2/hr of water at 70% RH, the proposed device must be able to produce a minimum of 1/2 L per hour (Product Design)The device must operate using less than 100W of power (Electrical Engineering)Prizes to be awarded based on the creativity, feasibility, and overall potential market size of the submission (Marketing)Models can be done in any CAD software as long as a STEP or IGES files are also uploaded. Any entry that does not include STEP or IGES file, will be considered ineligible for the contest. (CAD)

By: pjcamp

pjcamp — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 04:09:00 +0000

I can’t believe it took 5 hours for the first Dune comment to appear. The Boing Boing Comment Mob is clearly on vacation.

By: Anastasio Miras

Anastasio Miras — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 04:03:00 +0000

Kull Wahad!

By: Mitchell Glaser

Mitchell Glaser — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 03:53:00 +0000

I’d stand in line for a self-filling wallet.

By: Ian Wood

Ian Wood — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 03:12:00 +0000

I want a hydrophobic, self-expelling water fountain.

By: Rich Keller

Rich Keller — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 03:12:00 +0000

This innovation wouldn’t have been possible if the Fremen hadn’t patented their windtraps.

By: can trap

can trap — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 02:58:00 +0000

Namib Beetle also known as the Kuiseb Beetle

By: chellberty

chellberty — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 02:35:00 +0000

Ohhh But I was going into Tosche Station to pick up some power converters!

By: paulj

paulj — Sat, 24 Nov 2012 02:06:00 +0000

Can we implement some ancient technology? http://starwars.wikia.com/wiki/Moisture_farmer