Usually confined to a few Asian countries, wearing a mask on a daily basis is gradually becoming a global standard. And the current Covid-19 pandemic has given many entrepreneurs ideas. Indeed, some want to connect the masks to our smartphones.
The Covid-19 pandemic is not behind us yet, so wearing a mask and other barrier gestures will still have to be respected for an indefinite period. After the shortage of different masks approved, some countries have massively increased their production and others have authorized fabric masks for the general public. However, some entrepreneurs have seen it as an opportunity to do business.
The mask has therefore become a consumer good , so much so that a host of companies hastened to market it, such as clothing brands, sports clubs, etc. Some goggles offer "gadget" functions, such as drinking through a straw in the evening, reading lips, running without being embarrassed or even preventing glasses from fogging up.
As Reuters explains in an article from June 26, 2020, the Japanese start-up Donut Lab is currently developing a smart mask whose objective is a notch above those mentioned above. This is the C-Face Mask, a kind of rigid plastic case that sits on a fabric mask. The fact is that this mask is connected to the user's smartphone via Bluetooth! The goal? Detect, analyze and transcribe in writing mouth movements.
Indeed, everyone knows that talking with a mask on the face muffles the sound of the voice and conceals the mouth. Thus, C-Face Mask aims to help the interlocutor better understand what is being said. In addition to the written transcription function, it seems that the mask is able to use a speaker to amplify the sound of the voice . Donut Lab could go even further. Indeed, this company has indicated on its platform that the C-Face Mask could one day become a virtual and augmented reality platform!
With this craze around the mask, the marketing of products of all kinds is launched. Inevitably, some will be totally ridiculous and some will turn out to be quite useful. Beyond the commercial interest of the thing, it is important to remember that the mask is the subject of research and innovations serious , in terms of performance and above all preservation of the environment.
Let us quote for example the work of a team of researchers from the Queensland Technological University (Australia). Their mask is made of natural fibers and therefore biodegradable. It is nanocellulose obtained from plant waste such as sugar cane residue. More recently, MIT developed a new version of the N95 mask. Made of durable silicone rubber obtained through a simple injection molding, this mask incorporates an interchangeable filter requiring a reduced amount of resources at time of manufacture.
