MIT students develop prototype wearable 'air-conditioning' device

Four engineering students have developed a prototype wearable device which can cool the body, making air conditioning obsolete.

The device developed by the MIT students, 'Wristify', leverages the physical phenomenon known as the Peltier effect to reduce the body temperature, Fox News reported.

Wristify is a series of junctions of two different conductors, called a Peltier cooler, which is powered by a small battery and is attached to a wrist strap. 

When the device is placed against the skin, it makes you feel cooler by reducing the temperature of your wrist by a few fractions of a degree per second for a couple of seconds at a time. .

The team which is developing the device is still tinkering with it to figure out the optimal cooling cycle, but at this stage, they say the most effective method is to cool the wrist by 0.4 degrees Celsius (0.7F) per second for five seconds, and then turn off for 10 seconds. 

The chief benefit of this device is that it offers a more personalized approach to temperature control.