Literally. We’re not making this up.
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A material created by University of California, Riverside engineers is the key component of a swimsuit that won an global design competition for its ability to clean water as a person swims. It is derived from “heated sucrose, a form of sugar” and has a “highly porous structure that is super hydrophobic, meaning it repels water, but also absorbs harmful contaminants”, the university press release said. The material, known as Sponge, is capable of absorbing harmful contaminants and eventually carrying as much as 25 times its own weight. As demonstrated in the above video, The Sponge Suit absorbs everything *except* water and traps the contaminants in its pores to keep them from coming into contact with the wearer’s skin.
Ozkan and her husband Cengiz Ozkan, another engineer at the school, began developing the material four years ago for potential applications in cleaning up spills of oil or other chemicals, or even desalinizing water.
The new design molds the Sponge material into the shape of a bikini and encapsulates it in a 3-D printed elastomer that can form to the body for a great fit. Once the bathing suit has been worn several times, the absorbing pad can be replaced and recycled. Finally, the material is surprisingly affordable and has serious mass market potential. Place in bikini’s netting are made of a material called Sponge.
This innovative design recently won first place at the Reshape 15 Wearable Technology Competition and is awaiting patent approval. Their distributed network of fabrication includes Fab Labs and Maker Space, equipping all participants with digital fabrication machines such as laser cutters, 3D printers, milling machines and robotic arms in order to bring their idea to reality.
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We’ve previously heard about air-purifying clothing, so perhaps it shouldn’t come as a surprise to find out that scientists have now developed the aquatic equivalent – a bikini top that filters pollutants out of the water around the wearer. “SpongeSuit is a preliminary effort to create an actively eco-conscious wearable technology…Reprogrammability, recyclability and affordability are intriguing properties of the technology, allowing room for further research and development in clean-tech wearable”.
