A couple of engineers from San Francisco and Massachusetts may have inadvertently created the most Australian summer gadget - the AirCanditioner.
The perfectly named invention is a stubby holder, crossed with an evaporative cooler. You simply freeze the top which is filled with a gel core, and insulation materials, attach the battery-powered fan on the base, and slide your can into the cylinder. As the fan blows through the canister, the cold air is channelled through a small opening which blows cold air directly into your face at around 29km/h.
According to engineers Timothy Downing and Michael Torilli (who just go by Tim and Mike on the AirCanditioner site), the device can blow air up to 30-40 degrees (fahrenheit) cooler than the ambient outdoor temperature, with that difference dropping to 20 degrees cooler after an hour. On a 30°C day that means you could expect a breeze of between 7°C - 13°C initially, and around 18°C by the hour mark. Plus, the cooling mechanism drops the temperature of your drink for the first 25 minutes. Not the worst outcome for a beach day.
According to the promo video it looks like the anti-Ember Mug gadget will come in a variety of colours, and can expand and contract to hold different sized cans and bottles.
The pair filed the original patent for the AirCanditioner in September of 2017, and will soon be ready to launch the project on Kickstarter. Pricing, and Australian availability is still TBD, but if it works as intended then the next drink of the Summer might also be an air conditioner.
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