When the world is on fire, both literally that metaphorically, no idea is too strange. Right now we all have to do what we need to do to stay safe.
This doesn't mean, however, that a new device designed to protect you doesn't smell of dystopia. Why this new AIR Helmet of Hall Labs it definitely looks like a nightmare coming to life.
And not because it's so strange: it scares because it makes sense.
Air Helmet, living in a bubble
Hall Labs' first product is a little intriguing and a lot terrifying. The core of their AIR Helmet is wearable technology designed to keep someone safe without cutting them off from the rest of humanity. A anti Covid helmet, like riding a motorcycle. Or on the moon.
The brainchild of Michael Hall, the AIR Helmet is designed primarily for travel. It allows you to travel on a plane (and God only knows how much civil aviation would benefit), a train or Uber without worrying about getting infected or. to make others sick.
Autonomous ventilation
To be ugly, it has been said, it is ugly. It looks like a transparent and slightly uncool version of the helmets Daft Punk.
But it has a great quality: It is equipped with its own ventilation system. The "Covid" helmet with acrylic visor "filters incoming and outgoing air through HEPA filters located in front and behind the fans". Internal fans that keep germs away and push air to the back where it is expelled. This also prevents the mask from fogging up.
In one video, Hall says the only thing Air Helmet wearers feel is a light breeze behind their head.
Do you want to see that with my neck, putting a bowl on my head does me even more damage?
Life under glass
MicroClimate has designed, he says, AIR Helmet to be comfortable. It is large enough so that the wearer can also wear the glasses without interference. And it can accommodate airpods.
It also features a lightweight, removable and washable fabric both inside and around the neck. But the material is quite durable, and does not break easily.
The AIR Helmet, which comes with a carrying case, has up to more than four hours of battery life. But it can also be worn while charging via a USB-C cable.
It is currently available in white, but a black version is on the way. The shipment of AIR Helmet (about 199 euros) is expected in the first months of 2021.
I have mixed feelings, mostly of horror, and I know I'm not alone in not knowing how to feel about it.
