If Luke Skywalker and his Uncle Owen had owned a Watermill from Element Four, they wouldn’t have needed any droids. In case you don’t remember what the Owen Lars family did for a living, they were moisture farmers. They harvested the precious water from the arid air of the Tatooine desert planet.

The Watermill is essentially the same concept plucked right from the Star Wars Universe, allowing the user to pull fresh potable water from a sustainable, renewable, and unlimited source: the air. You got to love it when Star Wars tech comes to life.

The Watermill is designed for the residential user, and can produce 13 quarts (12 liters) of water per day. All the user needs to do is mount the Watermill outside their home, and he or she can drink from this self-regulating, low-energy device.

Not only will this device create fresh drinking water for residential families, but it is also designed for creating water for arid, impoverished nations. In short, the Watermill sounds like a product that could change the world.

This tech from Episode Four won’t be available from Element Four until Spring 2009, but if you would like to see the Watermill in action, there is one at the WIRED store in New York City.

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