Staying Cool in an A/C Jacket
Japan is trying to reduce global warming, local pollution levels and be more environmentally friendly (Hello, US govt?anyone listening? ) They created the "Cool Biz" campaign last summer to encourage workers not to wear those suits and instead come dressed in short sleeves so to avoid lowering the air conditioner thermostat in big office buildings.
A poster child for Cool Biz was unveiled by Kuchofuku Inc. The Air-conditioned clothes have two small fans about 10 centimeters in diameter attached to the right and left sides of the back of the clothing, just above the waist. The fans draw in a large amount of air and help to vaporize sweat. As the perspiration evaporates, heat is dissipated, bringing down the wearer’s body temperature. Sweating is the human body’s natural air conditioner, and air-conditioned clothes are designed to give this mechanism a boost, ensuring that it functions properly even on the hottest, most humid days. The work jackets (not quite fashionable yet) are available in either 100% polyester or 100% cotton. The fans run on four rechargeable AA-size nickel-hydrogen batteries. The fans are light and do not weigh the wearer down. Needs a little style upgrade (looks too much like a Members Only jacket at the moment) but there is a lot of potential for fun while you’re protecting your skin from UV rays and staying cool.
The founder of Kuchofuku Inc., Ichigaya Hiroshi, used to work as an engineer for Sony Corporation and has been working on the concept since 1999.
Originally by technomoda from Technomoda on January 16, 2006, 11:26am
