An atmospheric water generator (AWG) is a device that extracts water from humid ambient air. Water vapor in the air is condensed by cooling the air below its dew point, exposing the air to desiccants, or pressurizing the air. Unlike a dehumidifier, an AWG is designed to render the water potable. AWGs are useful where pure drinking water is difficult or impossible to obtain, because there is almost always a small amount of water in the air that can be extracted. The two primary techniques in use are cooling and desiccants. The extraction of atmospheric water may not be free of cost, because significant input of energy is required to drive some AWG processes. Certain traditional AWG methods are completely passive, relying on natural temperature differences, and requiring no external energy source. Research has also developed AWG technologies to produce useful yields of water at a reduced (but non-zero) energy cost. This device can literally pull clean drinking water out of thin air When kids learn about the planet's water cycle, they're taught a simple concept: our atmosphere is filled with water vapor that has evaporated from the bodies of liquid water we see around us. When the vapor's temperature gets low enough, it gets turned back into water. The presence of that vapor becomes especially apparent in the summer, when droplets collect on glasses of ice water and air conditioning units drip onto unsuspecting passersby. An Israeli company called Water-Gen does not think of that condensation as a byproduct; instead, it has built machines specifically designed to create and harvest as much condensation as possible. Using a system that uses a set of plastic "leaves" to funnel air in various directions, the team has developed water generators that appear to create pure drinking water out of nothing. "The target is to extract water from the air with minimum energy," founder and co-CEO Arye Kohavi tells Business Insider. "We think our solution can solve the problem on the level of countries. It's an immediate solution - governments don't need to spend decades to make a big project." Water-Gen is one of seven Israeli companies presenting technological innovations at the United Nations General Assembly this week. The company currently makes three sizes of water generating machines, each of which must be plugged into a power source. At 80 degrees and 60% humidity, the biggest can yield about 825 gallons per day, but Kohavi says the technology is easily scalable. The company's medium sized unit produces 118 gallons per day under the same conditions, and the smallest - which is intended for use in a home or office - produces just under 4 gallons per day. Water-Gen estimates that at current energy prices, the water generated will cost less than ten cents a gallon. The Water-Gen team is looking to bring the technology to two types of places: areas that don't have drinkable tap water, and locations that are warm and humid. "If it's hotter or more humid, the system produces more than average, and if it's colder and dryer it produces less," Kohavi explains, adding that as long as temperatures are high enough, there is enough water in the air for the machines to work regardless of humidity levels. Luckily, those two sets of conditions often overlap. "Places that do not have drinking water in pipes are usually hot and humid - Latin America, Southeast Asia, Africa - so those two rules are almost equal," Kohavi says Water-Gen is currently doing field tests of its products in cities like Mumbai, Shanghai and Mexico City, as well as more rural locations. The company's products are expected to be commercially available by the end of next year. Maxim Nasik, the chairman of Water-Gen, says that because climate change and the growing world population are making the issue of accessible drinking water increasingly important, the company hopes to bring its technology directly to governments. Implementing it on a large scale would be cheaper and faster, he says, adding that the company is already in discussion with several governments. That kind of negotiation is not new for Water-Gen - the company started in Israel by creating military equipment to help get water to soldiers on the front lines. It has since sold that technology to several other armies, including those in the US, UK and France, as well as undisclosed Arab countries. In addition to the water generation machines, the company also makes a water purifier that can be powered via batteries or solar panels, and is capable of filtering out everything from water-born parasites like Giardia to poison like cyanide, though it can't desalinize salt water. "Water from air is for places that you don't have any water to filter," Kohavi says.