We are HydroBeetle.

Four of us, building a backpack that collects water from the air around you. The project started at the University of Tokyo in July 2025.

Meet the team

It started with carrying water.

A small blue motorised utility cart under a shed roof, carrying two large blue water buckets with hoses, beside a green field.
Water brought by cart to a research plot outside Tokyo, 2024.
Inside a ger: an orange wooden roof frame, a stove in the centre and three people standing at the back.
Inside a ger in Mongolia, 2024.
P1: a cardboard enclosure with a small fan attached, on a desk beside a white appliance.
P1, our first try, September 2025.
P5: an upright build on a white stand, with an orange panel, a black fan and a tall finned heatsink.
P5, our fifth build.
The HydroBeetle backpack as designed: a hard case worn on the back, shown open.
  1. A small blue motorised utility cart under a shed roof, carrying two large blue water buckets with hoses, beside a green field.
    Water brought by cart to a research plot outside Tokyo, 2024.

    Summer 2024

    We carried water.

    A research plot outside Tokyo had too little rain. We brought water to it by bucket and cart, four hours a day. It was heavy, hot and tiring work.

  2. Inside a ger: an orange wooden roof frame, a stove in the centre and three people standing at the back.
    Inside a ger in Mongolia, 2024.

    The same year

    We met a household that carries all of theirs.

    In Mongolia, we met a household that brings in every drop it uses. They shower once a week and keep a careful eye on how much they drink.

  3. P1: a cardboard enclosure with a small fan attached, on a desk beside a white appliance.
    P1, our first try, September 2025.

    July 2025

    We asked a question.

    Could some of that water come from the air instead? We started HydroBeetle at the University of Tokyo to find out. The first try was a cardboard box and a small fan.

  4. P5: an upright build on a white stand, with an orange panel, a black fan and a tall finned heatsink.
    P5, our fifth build.

    Since September 2025

    Five builds, five lessons.

    Each build fixed something the last one showed us. The fifth pulls water out of ordinary room air, on a lab table.

    See the five builds
  5. The HydroBeetle backpack as designed: a hard case worn on the back, shown open.

    Next

    The full pack.

    Everything in one case you can wear. Then we test it where we control the air, and then outdoors.

What we believe, and what we do about it.

  1. Water should not need a pipe.

    So the pack collects it from the air around you.

  2. What you carry must earn its weight.

    So we judge every build by the water it gives for its weight and power.

  3. Nature worked it out first.

    So our collecting panel borrows from a beetle that drinks fog.

  4. Ask before you build.

    So we asked 37 people what they would carry, and we keep asking.

  5. Say what you do not know.

    So this site shows a target, not results. The water gets a lab test before anyone drinks it.

Where we are, in numbers.

What 37 people told us

When you spent a full day away from mains water and power, what troubled you most?

  • Heavy luggage 18
  • Toilet and hygiene 15
  • Weather 15
  • Fatigue 7
  • Getting lost 6
  • Shoes and clothing 5
  • Drinking water 4
  • Food 1
Multiple answers permitted; 71 responses from 37 people.

If the tap stopped tomorrow, how long would your home stock last?

  • Under 1 day 5
  • 1–2 days 12
  • 3–6 days 11
  • 7 days or more 1
29 responses.

Heavy luggage came first; drinking water came seventh of eight. Water is one of the heaviest things people carry on a multi-day trip, and we think many carry extra just in case.

The four of us.

  • Portrait of Rina Fukunaga Finance

    Rina Fukunaga

    Co-Founder

    Leads strategy and fundraising, and speaks for HydroBeetle abroad.

    Equity analyst at Bank of America. MSc in agriculture, University of Tokyo.

  • Portrait of Syahmi J. Suprem Crop science

    Syahmi J. Suprem

    Co-Founder

    Leads business development and builds the control system.

    Doctoral student in crop science, University of Tokyo. MEXT Scholar.

  • Portrait of Sunjae Jang Entomology

    Sunjae Jang

    Product Researcher and Developer

    Has built every prototype by hand, from P1 to P5.

    Doctoral student in applied entomology, University of Tokyo.

  • Portrait of Iván Felipe Velasco Medina Thermal engineering

    Iván Felipe Velasco Medina

    Product Researcher and Developer

    Designs how the device gets rid of heat.

    Doctoral student in mechanical engineering, University of Tokyo.

Want to build with us?

If you know heat and cooling, materials, water testing or making hardware, we would like to hear from you.

Build with us

How can you help?

Four ways, each with a clear next step.