Everybody has heard a joke or two about having a portable air conditioner. Especially for Filipinos who are caught wearing socks or shirts with damages or holes on it, you would most usually hear people say “May aircon ka pang dala ah” (you even brought an aircon).
Read: PHIVOLCS Will Introduce 4 Disaster Reduction Apps
Although this joke is mere sarcasm, nobody ever thought that this could become a reality. We have observed and seen a too few students carrying a portable electric fan especially in train rides—this is the norm. Imagine bringing a portable air conditioner?
Sony’s Reon Pocket
Sony, the well-known Japanese tech brand innovated what many people, especially in tropical countries dreamt of having. They were able to create an air conditioning unit that is portable and can be connected to people’s smartphones.
This video is the introduction of the brand—where it would allow people to control the temperature that their body is feeling from the portable air conditioning unit they have.
Reon Pocket, the portable air conditioner, comes with a specially-designed shirt where it would allow the device to spread it all over the body to cool down.
Read: Actions to Take When Temperatures Are High
You can see the video and do the explaining yourselves—the device will regulate the temperature and the overall feeling of the body for everyone’s comfortability.
How did the Reon Pocket start?
Believe it or not, Sony has put a ton of effort in innovating and developing this product. After doing sufficient surveys and research from the people of Tokyo for 24 months (2 years), they decided to come up with an idea that would help a majority of their population to cool down even if the sun is at its highest.
Hey, Japan is known to be the Land of the Rising Sun, for a reason, right?
Read: Easier Japanese Multiple-Entry Visa For Filipinos
The innovation is every on-the-go person dreams of; its thermoelectric cooling components will let people feel and stay fresh even if the temperature won’t allow them to.
TheVerge notes that the unit uses a system called the Peltier Effect. The Peltier Effect is a known effect that allows the usage of a small electrical current to either absorb (cool) or give out (warm) heat.
How does the portable air conditioner work?
As per EndGadget, the Reon Pocket is a device that is just slightly smaller than the average smartphone and can be placed on the nape of an individual.
A special shirt is where the device shall be inserted for it to have maximum effects and for it to function properly.
Controlling of the temperature
Of course, it is a portable air conditioner because you would have to control the temperature; it can be controlled via people’s smartphones. It can be toggled and tethered via the phone’s Bluetooth.
They can either choose it to serve as an air conditioning unit or a heater.
Gizmodo, a popular tech website, reported that the Reon Pocket has the ability to lower the temperature by 13 degrees Celsius (23 degrees Farenheit) and can warm you up and increase the temperature by 8 degrees Celsius (14 degrees Farenheit).
Update: As per GizModo, Sony said that they are currently working on setting up an automatic mode where the device would know whether or not to cool a person’s temperature down or up.
Power
Sony said that the device can be used for up to two (2) hours straight. However, it needs to be charged for a full day (24 hours) before it can be used.
Read: The Dangers of Using Air Conditioning Units and Electric Fans in This Intense Heat
This simply means that you won’t be able to use it everyday unless you have the patience to charge it every now and then, if need be.
The charger of this cutting-edge device is a USB Type-C adapter.
Is this the first attempt to create this kind of device?
Many researchers and inventors attempted to speculate and execute inventing a wearable and portable thermostat.
Back in CES 2018, a convention where all innovations to help mankind and the world, one brand, Embr Wave, had an idea for those who play in snow like snowboarding or skiing to have a portable heater attached to their bodies. Other brands and companies were seen there too.
Advantages of the Reon Pocket
One of the main things people and critics loved about the Reon Pocket is its size. In the video, you saw that the device can simply be slipped onto a person’s back shirt (around the nape area).
Read: MMDA to Implement the Heat Stroke Break to Personnel
It’s lightweight still allows people to run around and do what they normally do on a regular basis without being interrupted by a device they have on their bodies.
How much would this portable air conditioner be?
For starters, you can expect the device to cost more than the average because this would be the first device to offer two ends of a plane.
The original suggested retail price (SRP) of the Reon Pocket is at ¥12,760 or at (P6,200.00). Its price clearly reflects the capabilities of the device as it will be the first device to offer this kind of service and experience to its clientele.
When will the Reon Pocket be available?
Sony said that they will start to roll out a first few samples of the product at the first (1st) quarter of 2020 (around March 2020). However, they also noted that when they start to release it, the shipping will only be available in Japan—not in other countries yet.
No mention of when its release in the Philippines is has been rolled out yet. But, we Filipinos, are of course hopeful that we will get a hold of the product because March is typically the start of the hottest days in a calendar year.
Fun fact: When it’s summer here in the Philippines, the hottest that a province has experienced is at 51.7 degrees Celsius (125.06 Farenheit) in Dagupan City in the Pangasinan province.
The price of this portable air conditioning unit might be out of your league but if it need be, then when it gets released, secure yourself a spot. Nevertheless, you can cling to the traditional fan or the electric portable ones that are sometimes connected to smartphones.
What do you think about Sony’s new invention of a portable air condition? Could this be the start of the wearable thermostat era? Could this improve the lives of daily commuters? Let us sit back and wait for its release to the Philippines.
Source/s: The Verge | My Modern Met | EndGadget
