From 'Dune' to reality: Scientists create jacket that pulls drinking water straight from air

In a breakthrough that could reshape access to clean water in dry and water-stressed regions, researchers at the University of Texas at Austin have developed a wearable jacket capable of extracting drinking water directly from the atmosphere. The innovative technology can generate between 400 and 900 millilitres of water per day, depending on humidity levels, bringing the concept of wearable water harvesting closer to reality.

Sci-Fi dream to reality

The research, published in Science Advances, was led by Professor Guihua Yu, Chair Professor in the Walker Department of Mechanical Engineering and the Texas Materials Institute at the University of Texas at Austin. The jacket is inspired by the futuristic "stillsuits" featured in Frank Herbert's science-fiction novel Dune, which recycle and collect water to help wearers survive in harsh desert environments.

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How it works? 

Unlike conventional atmospheric water-harvesting systems that rely on bulky stationary equipment, the new wearable technology integrates water collection directly into fabric. The jacket is made from specially engineered biomass-derived hydrogel fibres that absorb moisture from the air and transport it through the textile into detachable storage units.

“Water harvesting from air is usually imagined as a stationary device such as a box, a panel or a large sorbent bed. Here, we wanted to rethink the form of the technology. If the fabric itself can collect water from the air, it opens a new direction for personal and portable water access,” said Yu.

Once the moisture-collecting units are filled, they can be removed and placed inside a foldable collector. Through a simple heating process, the trapped moisture is released as clean, drinkable water. In favourable atmospheric conditions, the system can produce nearly one litre of water a day.

According to the research team, the wearable textile demonstrated a three- to ten-fold improvement in water-harvesting performance compared with many existing technologies. The key innovation lies not only in capturing atmospheric moisture but also in efficiently transporting water through the fabric.

Importance of water transport

“The important advance here is that the team did not simply make another material that absorbs water. They designed a pathway for water to move quickly, from vapour in the air, to liquid on the fibre surface, and then into the textile,” said Professor Keith Johnston, co-author of the study and Chair Professor in the McKetta Department of Chemical Engineering.

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“That transport design is what allows the material to work not just in a small lab test, but in a wearable system,” he added. The project builds on years of research into atmospheric water harvesting. Weixin Guan, one of the lead authors of the study, described the wearable jacket as a significant milestone in the field.

“This is a big stride toward practical atmospheric water harvesting. This goal has been incubated over years of work, from molecular design to real-world operation, and it is especially meaningful to see those pieces finally come together in a field-ready system,” Guan said.