Korean electronics giant LG has adapted its home air purifying technology into a battery-powered, air purifying face mask with twin H13 HEPA filters, multi-speed fans and a UV-LED sterilizing case. But there’s still a lot we don’t know.
The PuriCare Wearable Air Purifier, as LG is calling it, appears quite a remarkable device. It straps to the face with straps behind the ears like a regular face mask, but carries an 820-mAh battery to run an active air filtration and purification system for up to eight hours on low mode and two hours on high.
The wearer breathes in and out through a pair of replaceable HEPA filters, with fans to help pull fresh air in from the outside. A “respiratory sensor” controls the speed of these fans, which speed up to assist as you breathe in and slow down to make it easier to breathe out.
When you take it off, you pop it in a charging case flooded with UV-LED lighting that “kills harmful germs” as it charges. LG says it’s “ergonomically designed based on extensive facial shape analysis” to “minimize air leakage around the nose and chin,” and every component is replaceable and recyclable – right down to the straps.
Here’s what we don’t know, though. Does it effectively block COVID-19 infection? Does it effectively filter a COVID-19-infected wearer’s exhalations so they don’t infect others? How much does this thing weigh when strapped to your face? Can anyone hear you when you talk through it? The Verge put further questions to LG, but the company is declining to comment until it has completed certification and testing.
There is currently no information on pricing, but LG will supply more details as part of its IFA 2020 virtual exhibition and says the PuriCare mask will be available in Q4 “in select markets.”
LG unveils a battery-powered air purifier you strap to your face [New Atlas]