Reportedly the 3D printed Sponge Suit bikini can clean up oil, chemical spills, and even desalinate water.
Designed by University of California Professor Mihri Ozkan, the swimwear has won the first prize in the Reshape15: Wearable Technology Competition.
The idea was the brainchild of Pinar Guvenc, Inanc Eray and Gonzalo Carbajo, partners of Eray Carbajo, an architecture and design firm based in New York City and Istanbul.
The material used is a reusable sponge which is porous, repels water, and absorbs harmful contaminants.
According to Daily Democrat Science, the design “molds the Sponge material into the shape of a bikini and encapsulates it in a net-like cage made of 3D-printed elastomer that forms to the body. The material could also be incorporated into such things as bathing suits, swimming caps and wet suits.”
There is further possibility of the material being used in paint applied to airplanes and satellites, or as chunks of electromagnetic shields in unmanned aerial vehicles.
On concerns that wearing the bikini may be unsanitary, the UC-Riverside team explained that the pollutants will be stuck in the inner pores of a reusable sponge material and will not touch the skin. It can be reused up to 20 times without losing its absorbency.
The prototype promises a possibility that one day ocean bathers will be able to contribute to a cleaner ocean simply by swimming in the waters.
