Do you need a portable air purifier? Probably not. While air quality probably isn’t what it used to be, we’re still not at that point where it’s going to be hazardous to breathe out in public. With the way our environmental problems continue to increase, however, there’s no telling whether that may be necessary at some point in the future. With the Dyson Zone, you’ll be duly-equipped to deal with that situation if it ever comes about.
That’s right, Dyson made a wearable air purifier that cleans air on the fly, allowing you to breathe unsullied air for as long as you want, provided you keep the darn thing on your face. Will this make you look weird? Probably, although not by much, considering how commonplace mask-wearing has become in the past two years. Of course, this looks more like the lower part of a motorcycle helmet than a virus-shielding protective mask, but we’ve seen people put on weirder masks throughout the course of the pandemic.
The Dyson Zone actually consists of two parts: a pair of standard-looking over-ear headphones and a face visor that attaches to the earcups. Yes, they’re real wireless headphones, too, so you can use it to listen to your post-apocalypse playlists while you walk down the street looking like a refugee from a technologically-advanced timeline where life on Earth can no longer be sustained. Or something. It should be a decent pair of headphones, too, with three active noise-canceling modes (conversation, isolation, and transparency), low distortion sound, and a neutral frequency response. Granted, there aren’t much details about the cans themselves, but that’s because it’s really an afterthought to what they’re selling here.
The star of this show is, of course, that air-purifying face visor, which covers the area around your mouth and the lower part of your nose. The way it works is, a small electric motor on each ear cup powers built-in compressors, which draw air and passes it through a dual-layer filter for cleaning and purifying. After that, the clean air is channeled across the visor and delivered so the wearer can breathe it in.
The Dyson Zone’s visor doesn’t actually work like an oxygen mask. Instead, it’s non-contact, so it doesn’t actually touch any part of your nose, mouth, or cheeks. Instead, built-in vents on the inside of the visor deliver the purified air in two diffused airflow streams, in such a way that the wearer will breathe the clean air in the crosswinds. Yes, it seems like a weird way to implement a clean air mask, but we imagine going this route makes it much more comfortable, as no part of the visor can create any discomfort on any part of your face.
According to the outfit, it can capture particles as small as 0.1 microns, so dirt, dust, allergens and bacteria of all sorts should be removed from the air you’re breathing. Oh yeah, if you’re in a part of the world that still requires wearing masks, it also comes with a face covering attachment that creates a sealed environment around the visor.
The Dyson Zone comes out in August. No pricing has been announced yet.