If you could have a superpower , what would it be ? Other than flying and telepathy ( which , let ’s be honorable , would in all probability actually be awe-inspiring ) , breathing underwater is one of the favorites . you’re able to give ear out with Aquaman and Ursula ( sorry Ariel , but she looks more fun ) , and when the apocalypse come and we ’re all living under water , you ’ll be all right .
With this in mind , a student a the Royal College of Art , London has designed a 3-D - print amphibious garment calledAMPHIBIO – basically a band of lamella – for this very purpose .
harmonize toJun Kamei , a biomimicry designer and materials scientist concerned and inspired by nature ’s out of sight design , it is “ for a future tense where humankind lives in very unaired proximity with pee . ”
With the macrocosm set for a global temperature step-up of3.2 ° light speed ( 5.7 ° fluorine ) by 2100 , rising sea levels are a very real terror tolarge coastal city , potentially touch up to2 billion people – or 26 percentage of the current global universe .
Kamei ’s corking small twist expend a specially designed porous , hydrophobic material that replenishes oxygen in the water and releases carbon dioxide . It is inspired by water - diving event insect that createtheir own small aqualung dive setby creating a protective bubble of air around their eubstance thanks to their water repellent skin .
The engineering is easily 3D - printable too , which will be heavy for when we need them en masse . These " gill " could replace heavy and inept scuba equipment , making it more akin to free dive but for longer . This could have immediate applications for underwater saving scenarios – the12 boys rescued by frogman from a flood cave in Thailand , for example , where it took hebdomad to work out how to get the son and the vital respiration equipment through those minute tunnel .
So far , the tech has only been test as a mold image , not actually on man , so the ambition may have to be on hold for now . But scaling up and quiz on humans is Kamei ’s next plan .
This may all sound rather dystopian , but Kamei assert he has a much more optimistic vision of the future , despite a potentially flooded human race . He think AMPHIBIO could provide “ daily comfort to people who [ may have to ] spend as much clip in the H2O as on the country , " even suggesting it could be used in " a reality where a human being would have a peaceable touristic dive in the neighboring church , or a night dive in the vivid streets . ”
When you put it like that , it sounds rather wonderful .
