--- title: "Wearable Air Conditioner Could Stave Off Your Death In This Heat Wave" description: "Sony has developed a wearable personal air conditioner that you can stick inside a specially-designed pocket sewn into an accompanying shirt." date: "2020-07-09" modified: "2020-07-09" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/wearable-air-conditioner-sony-heat-wave" categories: - "Robots and Machines" tags: - "air conditioner" - "air conditioning" - "sony" - "the digest" --- # Wearable Air Conditioner Could Stave Off Your Death In This Heat Wave ![Sony has developed a wearable personal air conditioner that you can stick inside a specially-designed pocket sewn into an accompanying shirt.]() *\Image: Sony\* ## Personal Cooldown Sony [has developed]() a wearable personal air conditioner that you can stick inside a specially-designed pocket sewn into an accompanying shirt. The device was meant to cool down attendants of the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, but the event had to be [postponed due to the coronavirus](). But summer itself isn't cancelled — with much of North America [slammed by a July heat wave ]()— so luckily Sony decided to make the futuristic device available for purchase anyway. https://youtu.be/C56zONHJryk ## Protect Ya Neck The device, called "Reon Pocket," is roughly the size of an external battery pack and can, according to Sony, cool you down by a whopping 23 degrees Fahrenheit. It can even warm you up in winter by 14 degrees. The device uses the "Peltier effect" to either absorb or produce heat by passing a current through a thermocouple circuit and a small fan. A 2.5 hour charge gets you anywhere between two to four hours of cooling or heating, the company says. Sony is also selling T-shirts alongside the device, for $20 each, that feature a special pocket between the shoulder blades to slide the device into. ## Big in Japan An accompanying app, available on both iOS and Android devices, allows you to control the gadget. The device [went on sale]() exclusively in Japan on July 1, where it costs about $170. Sony has yet to announce any plans to sell the device in the US. Early reviews are mixed. The device has an average of [2.8 stars out of five]() on Amazon Japan. "I was surprised to cool down in no time after turning it on," reads a five star review, as interpreted by Google Translate. Most reviewers, though, were far less kind. "Only one very narrow point of the spine is cooled loosely, so what?" one disappointed reviewer noted. "In fact, there was no significant difference in the amount of perspiration between use and non-use." **READ MORE:** [Sony’s Wearable Air Conditioner Is Finally Available to Help Make the Summer Less Sweltering]() \[*Gizmodo*\] **More on the device:** [Sony Unveils Wearable Air Conditioner That Sits in a Shirt Pocket]() ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()