The next generation pollution mask is here. Yet, according to makers Blue Sky Lab, ATMOBLUE is not a mask at all, but a wearable air purifier providing pure air everywhere you go. ATMOBLUE comes packed with sensor technology to automatically adjust airflow, a futuristic design, and the efficiency to filter out up to 99.97 percent of air particle matter. With a battery life of approximately three years, and smartphone pairing, this isn’t your average 3M mask. We found out more about the company’s first-released product from co-founder and Chief of Product Simon Kubski.
So, what is ATMOBLUE?
ATMOBLUE isn’t really a mask – it’s more of a smart respiration system. It has two fans, so it’s basically a breathing machine that’s able to deliver up to 88 liters of air a minute. It’s enough to keep a positive pressure environment under most physical activity, which means it’s really easy to breathe – like you’re not actually wearing a ‘mask.’ You’re wearing an air purifier that’s able to deliver clean air to you.
What inspired you to make the product?
First, it was for our friends. Having lived in Beijing for over 10 years, that was the starting point for us. We also wanted to make it for people who’ve experienced air pollution and have bought or used different air purification products before, and would appreciate something that’s able to solve a bunch of different issues.
Our biggest consideration was making something that would be really comfortable and provide an easy breathing experience. We wanted to make sure we had a product that, no matter what, actually protected people and was able to really enhance the overall breathing experience – and make it a little bit less annoying to have to want to protect oneself.
What is it made of?
Customized air ducts, fans and batteries, a silicone machine seal, a strap that distributes weight evenly across the face, HEPA filters and an air chamber.
Explain a little bit about the production of ATMOBLUE.
It was a year from design and R&D to launch. By the time we collected all the people who were going to work on the product, it became a fun process of uncovering what’s really possible and what’s not from a design and engineering perspective. When you manufacture a hardware device, which is essentially what this is, with a bunch of different parts in it, you run into a whole bunch of challenges. To be honest, this is the first smart hardware device I’ve ever made from end to end, so it was a huge learning experience.
What were the biggest challenges?
The biggest challenge was trying to determine what the trade-offs would be. There are things like size, weight, aesthetics, usage time, battery time, and filtration – unfortunately you can’t really deal with any of those in isolation. If you change one, it moves all the other things. What it really came down to, for us, was performance.
Why did you decide to go for a more protective, rather than preventative, measure?
This is something we discussed a lot at the beginning of Blue Sky Lab. Is it solving a problem, or is it actually contributing to the problem? We settled on the fact that there is nothing that anything of us can do in the short term. Air pollution is a major issue – we’re not going to be able to solve it on our own. The first step is protecting people who are at risk of the effects. We need to make the product, get it out, and then we need to look at how we can improve it.
A Closer Look:
Dual industrial-grade H13 HEPA filters: Up to 99.97 percent of air particle matter is filtered out
Seal: A silicone seal and patented strap ensure unfiltered air doesn’t pass through
Intelligent Air System: Smart controls adjust the airflow according to your heart rate
Mobile app: Monitor and automatically adjust your fan speed preference for an enhanced breathing experience; airflow automatically adjusts for running or resting according to your height and weight
Personalization: Swappable designer skins match your style and preference
Follow Blue Sky Lab on WeChat at blueskylab
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