Consider it, or not. The idea of wearing noise-canceling headphones with a built-in air purifier really sounds like something out of an apocalyptic future. There are actually two things we didn't consider: the first is that this is a real device, Dyson Zone, which will go on sale this year. The second is that we live in an already apocalyptic present.
The big picture? Impressive
With the continued urbanization of the world's population, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 9 out of 10 terrestrials breathe air that exceeds the limits set by law. Many metropolises around the world have already returned to pre-pandemic pollution levels. And more than 100 million people, one fifth of the population of the whole of Europe, they are exposed to very heavy, continuous and long-term noise pollution.
Phenomena that were not born yesterday, obviously. And on the other hand, it seems that this contraption brought out by Dyson isn't either.
Dyson Zone and utopia: listening to music, breathing clean air
The Dyson Zone is Dyson's first wearable purifier: it collects urban pollutants such as gases, allergens and fine dust while reproducing high quality audio and canceling unwanted sound. As an advertiser I can say that anything that can be summarized in a few words sounds good and has three important advantages: clean air, good music, no noise. Who wouldn't like it?
This item is not a joke. When I saw his patent filing over two years ago, I talked about it in the blog and I followed his path, which comes from afar. It was born from 10 years of research into air purification technology (James Dyson's company has come up with some of the best models in this field), and in the last 6 years, 500 Dyson Zone prototypes have been produced before this one .
The first prototypes of the Dyson Zone air purifying cap had a snorkel similar to that for snorkelling, while the motor and mechanisms fit into a backpack! In its six years of development the device has evolved significantly. The miniaturized engine ended up on the back of the head, then they managed to integrate it "split" into two compressors: one for each bonnet. Improvements in breathing apparatus design have led to the current version: a breathable face mask without a visor that allows the delivery of clean air without the need to cover the entire face. A brand new method of delivering clean air and, in its own way, a beautiful proof of wearable technology.
Dyson Zone and dystopia: walking around with a muzzle
The head tells me that this solution is truly remarkable and important. If the planet has become unlivable it is certainly not the fault of Dyson. If they had told my grandmother as a girl that to stay in the sun you would have to cover yourself with cream, she would have laughed heartily, but the truth is that you have to protect yourself in some way.
This seems like an effective way.
Nonetheless, it also gives you chills. In my imagination (and that of many) the idea of having a gas mask permanently on your face, something that hides your smile, is aberrant. I don't know if I would pay (and dearly, given the not so popular Dyson prices) to go around combined like Bane, the super villain of the Batman saga. The message is one of humiliating surrender: men have trapped themselves, and now they walk around with a muzzle like animals in prison.
I don't know if I would be able to accept it.
I know, I know: it's not all bad
I am aware that there are already a lot of devices on the market that can make our lives less difficult. Air purifiers exist, and are increasingly present, as is people's awareness of the topic of air pollution. It's that the form of this technology (deaf, mute) seems to isolate us more and more from the world around us instead of connecting us, and this leads me to wonder if this is really the future we have before us.
Looking at the Dyson Zone (which I think is an exceptional machine, mind you) it seems that the answer could be "yes". Only time will tell if we will find our way back to sanity.
