Dyson unveils headphones with air-purifying mask
Image credit: Dyson
Appliances company Dyson has unveiled noise-cancelling headphones that include a purifying visor designed to help people avoid polluted air in cities.
Known as the Dyson Zone, the wearable device combines noise-cancelling over-ear headphones with a visor that sits in front of the nose and mouth that delivers filtered air.
The air-purifying headphones result from over a decade of air-quality research and development and were designed to tackle the urban issues of air quality and noise pollution.
“Air pollution is a global problem – it affects us everywhere we go. In our homes, at school, at work, and as we travel, whether on foot, on a bike, or by public or private transport,” said chief engineer Jake Dyson. “The Dyson Zone purifies the air you breathe on the move.”
Jake Dyson unveils the new Dyson Zone air-purifying headphones in London.
Image credit: Matt Alexander
As the world’s urban population continues to grow, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that nine in 10 people globally breathe air that exceeds WHO guideline pollutant limits.
WHO said that although nitrogen dioxide (NO2) pollution in cities decreased during the Covid-19 pandemic, levels have quickly returned to normal, or exceeded pre-pandemic levels across many cities.
Dyson said that, unlike face masks, the device delivers a plume of fresh air, without touching the user’s face, using high-performance filters and two miniature air pumps. “After six years in development, we’re excited to deliver pure air and pure audio, anywhere,” Dyson said.
Dyson Zone Dyson engineers used a breathing manikin, whom they named Frank, fitted with medical-grade mechanical lungs and sensing equipment, which ‘inhales’ pollution replicating human breathing patterns in a controlled chamber.
Image credit: Tom Bunning/Dyson
The Zone headphones are borne of Dyson’s 30 years of expertise in airflow, filtration, and motors technologies and a deep understanding of indoor and outdoor air quality.
The device has compressors in each ear cup that draw air through the dual-layer filters and project two streams of purified air to the wearer’s nose and mouth, channelled through the non-contact visor.
Sculpted returns on the visor ensure purified airflow is kept near to the nose and mouth and diluted as little as possible by external crosswinds.
Sign up to the E&T News e-mail to get great stories like this delivered to your inbox every day.
