Do you ever wish you could be comfortable no matter what the temperature was in the room? Carrying around a personal fan or heater is out of the question. Not only would it be too bulky but how would you power such contraptions, right? Well maybe a new bracelet created by a group of students at MIT could solve the problem.

The thermoelectric bracelet works by helping you control your body temperature. When you start to feel too warm the bracelet will cool you down. Feeling Jack Frost nipping at your nose? Then the bracelet will help to raise your body temperature to something more comfortable. If the students are ever able to market it to the general public it could bring energy bills down. Instead of heat an entire room or building, you simply heat the individual. At this time an estimated 16.5% of all energy consumed in the United States goes directly to heating or cooling homes and buildings.

So how does a simple bracelet control how warm or cool you are? It’s science lies in the the thermoelectrical module. This module provides thermal pulses of heat or cool to your wrist. The idea is that if you heat or cool even just a part of your body then you’ll feel more comfortable. Don’t think it’ll be enough, walk out on a cool day, and come in and warm just your hands under warm water. You’ll feel warmer even if the rest of you hasn’t caught up.

Right now the bracelet, named the Wristity, is still in the prototype phase. At this point it can run up to 8 hours on a lithium polymer battery.

[via Mashable]