Reon Pocket is Sony’s wearable Air Conditioner
In its First Flight internal startup, Sony has decided to go forward with the Reon Pocket. It is a wearable and portable air-conditioner.
First Flight is a kind of incubator and a crowd-funding platform. Other gadgets that have been through First Flight are the FES E Ink watch, Huis smart home universal remote, and Wena Wrist modular smartwatch.
About Reon Pocket AC:
The Reon Pocket was tested by Sam Byford at The Verge. He describes it has a thin, palm-sized plastic device that has a USB-C port.
It can be connected to your smartphone, either Android or iOS via Bluetooth. On the back of the device, there is a silicone pad that you have to press against your skin for it to stick. This pocket air-conditioner uses the Peltier effect to cool or warm itself.
What is the Peltier effect?
Peltier effect is the cooling of one junction and the heating of the other when an electric current is maintained in a circuit. The circuit’s material should consist of two dissimilar conductors. The cooling/heating is stronger when dissimilar semiconductors are used.
When the circuit is connected to a battery using 2 pieces of copper wire to a length of bismuth wire, the temperature rises at the junction where the current passes from copper to bismuth.
The temperature falls when the current flows in the opposite direction – from bismuth to copper.
This effect was discovered in 1834 by the French physicist Jean-Charles-Athanase Peltier.
You can either use it handheld or buy Sony’s special V-neck undershirts with a pocket on the inner back to keep the device resting between your shoulder blades.
Control the pocket AC using an app:
The app lets you set the temperature, there are 3 levels of both cooling and warming. There is also a boost mode which is limited to 2 minutes and allows the speed of the fan to be controlled. On average, Reon pocket AC can work for 2-3 hours on a single charge. The time depends on the intensity on which you set it.
It weighs only 80 grams and isn’t much noticeable when worn. Though placing the pocket AC in the pocket at the back of the undershirt is a bit cumbersome.
Sony claims that it can reduce your body surface temperature by 13°C. The effect is not spread all across the body, it is concentrated around the area where the device is worn.
Sam Byford shared his experience with it:
“I wore the Reon Pocket while walking to a supermarket about a mile away for lunch today. The temperature was only 30°C (86°F), so we’re not quite into the swing of a Tokyo summer just yet, but the humidity was pushing 80 percent — this is still the kind of walk that would normally turn me into a puddle of sweat soon enough. I did find, generally, that the Reon Pocket improved matters somewhat, even in its lowest cooling setting. I was definitely still sweating by the time I got home, but the cooling sensation does make a difference while you’re actually out there in the heat.”
Price & Availability:
At the moment, it is only available in Japan. The device costs $122 (9133 INR) and the undershirt (white or beige) costs $17 (1272 INR).