Designed by the startup Narvalo, a spin-off of Politecnico di Milano, the smart mask monitors the wearer’s breathing patterns and constantly optimizes the airflow within the mask, reducing the build-up of heat, humidity and above all CO2.
They serve to protect themselves and others, but increasingly they tend to be truly iconic and high-tech objects, with cutting-edge features that are indispensable. Even before the emergence of Covid-19, a team of young innovators, the guys from the startup Narvalo, a spin-off of Politecnico di Milano, incubated at PoliHub and institutional participant of the Fondazione Politecnico di Milano, were developing the idea of A mask capable of protecting all those who move around the city on foot, by bicycle, motorcycle or scooter from smog, pollen and bacteria.
Then this summer, the first Urban Mask prototype, a mask capable of revealing details about air quality, thanks to an easy-exhalation smart valve, capable of interacting with the internal and external environment and communicating with the smartphone. Six months after its market launch, here is the “Narvalo Urban Active Mask“, In its final version, equipped with Active Shield, a proprietary device – Italian patent pending – that can also be applied to the previous model.
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Urban Active Mask, the first anti-smog mask of IoT
It is an IoT device – or Internet of things, intelligence of things, those systems of physical devices that receive and transfer data through wireless networks – of the latest generation that allows monitoring the user’s breathing patterns: an integrated intelligent fan, capable of constantly optimizing the flow of air inside the mask, reducing the accumulation of heat, humidity and especially CO2, with sensors capable of highlighting important data on respiratory performance and then transmitting it to the user through the dedicated “Narvalo app” . Thanks to the activated carbon layer and the BLS Zero filtration technology, the Narvalo Urban guarantees a filtration level greater than 99%.
Made in Italy, the smart mask: breathable, washable, water-repellent and tear-resistant, available in 6 different colors, equipped with an antibacterial seal that prevents skin irritation and, last but not least, adheres perfectly to the face so that the glasses do not mist: it is the subject of an international campaign on Kickstarter in early March, when it will be available for purchase.
“With Urban Active we position ourselves as pioneers in the smart mask market – explains Venanzio Arquilla, professor at the Milan Polytechnic and president of Narvalo, and Ewoud Westerduin, co-founder and head of design of Narvalo – with the intention of contributing ‘Aire de change ‘, as our result states, and transforming the mask from a protective device into an information device, capable of returning important information on respiratory performance. Thanks to the design, valve and features that we have studied and tested with thousands of customers in recent months, this mask is in fact one of the most comfortable FFP3 on the market, a product that combines respiratory rate monitoring with an ecosystem IoT. and make the indoor air flow, to live a breathing experience in the city never before lived ”.
