Dyson patents a headset that can purify the air

If you use public transport, you know how stale the air can be. Commuters cough and sneeze constantly, which releases billions of germs into the air.

Taking a flight can be even worse, because of the recycled air. And that's not to mention polluted cities like Wuhan in China (one at random) or ours Torino. You can and must purify the air. But how to do it? A Dyson patent tries to answer the question.

Wearing a face mask can help prevent germs and pollutants from breathing, but it is not very effective and at least it is not yet socially acceptable.

Pure air to wear

Dyson's patent for a new type of purifier describes a product that combines a system capable of purifying the air with a set of headphones. A solution that seems designed around the sociopaths we have become when we are on the tram of a city unhealthy for body and mind.

Dyson's portable air purifier features two speaker groups: both have a filter, a fan that creates airflow, and a motor that drives the fan. Clean air travels along a nozzle and to a front belt. This strip has an outlet that releases air to the nose and mouth.

With a 12.000 RPM fan and a motor on each side of the head, it is likely (and desirable!) that these units have active noise cancellation.

It is not clear to me whether the noise of the engine and the fan can distract commuters and fellow neighbors.

Purifying the air consumes

These same features raise the issue of battery life: I can get my hand on it, the headset won't last as long as standard wireless headphones.

What about the anterior stripe that directs the air towards the nose and mouth? It can attract more unwanted attention than a standard antiviral mask.

This is only a patent, therefore not a commercially available product.

However Dyson he has been working on it for over a year, and it is unlikely that sooner or later a similar device will not arrive on the market. The attention of a brand like this also shows an underlying reality: the trend is growing, people feel more and more the problem of pollution and respiratory damage.

You may not purify the air with a Dyson contraption, and you may not wear such a device every day, but on flights or in polluted areas it could help avoid disease or lung damage.