The C-FACE, an invention by Donut Robotic, is a smart mask that can cleverly transmit messages, before translating them from Japanese into eight languages.
Donut Robotics hopes the mask will prove useful ‘in a society where people live apart from each other’ and is aiming the products at a mass market that simply didn’t exist before the pandemic.
The C-FACE mask fits neatly over your standard face mask. It requires Bluetooth to connect to a smartphone and tablet with an app that can then transcribe speech into text and calls. This application can also help to amplify the voice who wears it if they want. It is also capable of connecting with smartphones up to a distance of 32 feet (10 meters).
Donut Robotics hopes to develop it into image systems, describing the mask as a ‘new communication device in the rapidly progressing online and digital world’.
Taisuka Ono, Chief Executive Donut Robotics, said, “We worked hard for years to develop a robot and we have used that technology to create a product that responds to how the coronavirus has reshaped society,”.
“We still have many situations where we have to meet in person. In this new normal … the mask and the app are very helpful,” he added.
At Donut Robotics, the engineers thought up the idea while searching for a product to help keep the business afloat during the ongoing health crisis.
By the time when the global pandemic first struck, Donut Robotics had just finalized a contract to supply robot guides and translators to Haneda Airport in Tokyo. However, cause the difficulties that the air travel industries are facing, such products now face uncertainly, and the company had to adapt in order to survive.
Expecting to be released in January 2021, the mask is reportedly worth about $35 per mask. Wearers will also be charged a monthly fee for the translation and minutes functions.
The First 5,000 of C-FACE masks will be shipped to buyers in Japan from September onwards. Also, Donut Robotics is intending to sell them throughout China, the US, and Europe.
Source: Unilad