Inventor's summer suits are the coolest thing around2011/07/28
This summer has started hotter and stickier than most, given the national call to cut down on electricity use. Gel mattresses, ice-packed scarves and mist-spraying pocket fans are just some of the items Japanese are using to cope.
For Hiroshi Ichigaya, the solution is a breeze.
The engineer is in the spotlight for developing work gear -- and now office clothing -- that balloons with air blown in by attached fans, keeping the wearers dry even in clammy rooms.
"Most solutions are inefficient because they involve cooling entire spaces," says Ichigaya, speaking in a stuffy meeting room at his firm Kuchofuku ("Air-conditioned Clothing") in Toda, Saitama Prefecture. The engineer himself looks at ease, thanks to his lithium-powered, softly humming suit. "I thought, 'Why not cool the person in it?' "
Ichigaya, who went...
http://www.asahi.com/english/TKY201107270452.html