LG Electronics recently announced that they would launch a new line of wearable air-purifying masks, seeing a great market potential in the coming years.
Masks we love to wear
You do not want to wear it, but for the safety of others and yourself, you have to. Masks are now mandatory in most countries in order to refrain the spread of coronavirus, and the solution seems to be successful. However, most people are not satisfied with the little comfort provided by the masks available on the market.
The luckiest will only have to wear it a couple hours per day, maybe in public transports or in a shop. For others, however, the mask will have to hang on tight for most of the day, such as in the service industry or with people working in closed space.
This mask – whether it be the classic one you can buy everywhere or some fancier tissue version – is certainly not the most comfortable accessory to wear. We are supposed to breath air in and breath it out, recycling it. However, mask stop us from breathing normally. Worse, they create a little pocket of hot humid air right in our face: that’s where germs jump in, and you get sick. Awesome! Is there no better solution for protecting ourselves?
LG Electronics coming at our rescue
LG Electronics is joining other brands such as Adidas and Burberry, who promised to come up with new face covering solutions. Set to be unveiled in the coming months, the mask will be an extension of LG’s PuriCare, a line of air purifier. Two fans placed on each side of the mask will circulate fresh air into the mask in order to have the same quality of air as when not wearing a mask, while still being protected from the Covid-19.
The mask is equipped with H13 HEPA filters, which block 99.95% of airborne particles as small as 0.1 microns. With the coronavirus approaching 0.125 microns in diameter, the filters should be able to successfully protect the wearer. A powerful battery gives the fans 8 hours of autonomy when turned on maximum speed.
Not only that, but LG also equipped the mask case with UV-Led lighting that is supposed to kill harmful germs in between uses. The case will also be able to send a notification to the LG ThinQ mobile app when filters need changing.
The only issue is that there has been no claims on the air that we breath out, meaning that while the wearer is protected, he might also infect others. LG said that more testing was needed before launch in order to perfect the design.
A green solution
Just when using plastic straws became less popular, it is now millions of single-use protective equipment thrown away every day. If we keep this going, there might be more plastic masks than jelly fish in the sea, according to a French clean-up charity. The BBC reported that we are using 129 billion masks and 65 billion plastic months every month, with a considerable part of it ending in the oceans.
In reaction to that, LG claim that all parts of the mask are recyclable, helping in the fight to protect oceans.
Sources:
https://www.dezeen.com/2020/09/02/lg-face-mask-puricare-wearable-air-purifier-coronavirus-design/
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/08/28/tech/lg-air-purifier-mask-wellness-trnd/index.html
https://www.bbc.com/news/av/science-environment-53287940
