‘Gills’ can let humans breath underwater
Writer: | Editor: Stephanie Yang | From: | Updated: 2018-09-07
A gill of 32 square meters.
A 3D-printed set of “gills” could give humans the ability to breathe underwater.
The system uses a specially designed material to replenish oxygen from the surrounding water, and release carbon dioxide.
Titled “Amphibio,” it was designed by designer and material scientist Jun Kamei at the Royal College of Art, in collaboration with the RCA-IIS Tokyo Design Lab.
He says: “The technology was inspired by water diving insects, which survive underwater by virtue of a thin layer of air trapped on their superhydrophobic skin surface, working as a gas exchanging gill.”
He says he is planning to test Amphibio to support underwater breathing at human scale, where a gill of at least 32 square meters would be required to support our oxygen consumption in water.
He believes the invention is something between free diving and scuba diving equipment.
“In a near future, it could allow the wearer to stay underwater longer than in free diving, but with less equipment than in scuba diving,” he said. (SD-Agencies)