Science Fiction
Dictionary
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
 |
Beat Covid-19 With AIR By MicroClimate - At Last I Get My PAPR
AIR is a new product by a new company, MicroClimate. The purpose of the device is to supply you with fresh, virus-free HEPA-filtered air, in a way that lets everyone see your face.
That's the basic idea, anyway. I'm a bit skeptical, since the company's website doesn't appear to be complete to me, although it presents a professional appearance.
I've been wondering since roughly February why there aren't PAPR devices for consumers. Powered Air-Purifying Respirators have been around for quite a long time; they are used to provide positive pressure airflow from a filtered source. Typically battery powered and HEPA-filtered, most of the commercial devices have a belt or backpack battery and filter component that provides the air through a hose.
The biggest problem with these is probably the size of the Covid-19 virus and whether or not it can be blocked with a HEPA filter; apparently it can. The virus that causes Covid-19 is about 0.125 microns, and HEPA can capture anything down to about 0.01 microns.
The second problem is cost; PAPR devices cost from $200 and up; a good one is probably $500.
On the other hand, we spent four $trillion keeping our economy afloat; this would have purchased a lot of PAPR devices for essential workers. They are by far superior to wearing a mask.
Anyway, I'm sure there is some sort of straightforward reason why these won't work in our current situation; I don't understand it myself.
Just a couple of weeks ago, I wrote a story about an art project that was very similar in appearance; see iSphere Plastique Fantastique Face Mask Alternative, which also provides a science fictional background.
Take a look at the MicroClimate website.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 9/7/2020)
Follow this kind of news @Technovelgy.| Email | RSS | Blog It | Stumble | del.icio.us | Digg | Reddit |
Would
you like to contribute a story tip?
It's easy:
Get the URL of the story, and the related sf author, and add
it here.
Comment/Join discussion ( 0 )
Related News Stories - (" Medical ")
3D Printed Organs From Space
'For a while your colonists will have to come up to the [orbital] Hospital...'
Health Kiosk Has No Human Doctor
'The electronic body analyzer had been developed...' - Michael Crichton, 1969.
NEO Brain Computer Interface (BCI)
'The remains of the lace took on the rough shape of a brain...' - Iain Banks, 2010.
MIT Computerized Bionic Leg Is Part Of The User
'The leg was to function, in a way, as a servo-mechanism operated by Larry’s brain, through the mediation of the electronic brain in the leg.' - Charles Recour, 1949.
Technovelgy (that's tech-novel-gee!) is devoted to the creative science inventions and ideas of sf authors. Look for the Invention Category that interests you, the Glossary, the Invention Timeline, or see what's New.
Science Fiction
Timeline
1600-1899
1900-1939
1940's 1950's
1960's 1970's
1980's 1990's
2000's 2010's
Current News
Warfare Goes Underground In Ukraine
'Once in the very first weeks of the war, before everyone had been evacuated from the surface...'
3D Printed Organs From Space
'For a while your colonists will have to come up to the [orbital] Hospital...'
Robot Bees 3D Printed By Festo
'At first I was struck by the large size of these bees..'
DIY Robot Scorpion Crushes It
'...it raised its front end off the ground and waved its antennae at them, then raised one armoured claw as if to snip them out of the sky.'
How To Settle An Argument Between Two Robots
'Henry... assumed the curious absent look of a robot talking on the TBR circuits.'
The Wind Phone Calls Those Who Have Passed On
'Only I heard that!'
Don't Want To Wear A TIght Shiny Bodysuit?
'He looked a good bit like an elderly, fat beetle.'
Light Society: Simulates Earth-Scale Society With A Billion AI Agents
'The king, an old hand in the running of tyrannies, instantly grasped the directions...'
Satyress Centaur Robot Horror Reminds Everyone Of Something
'Fess was very dutiful'
When Colds Threaten You Can't Do This - Or Can You?
'...a hemispherical force field enclosing his head.'
Beautiful Visualization of Dawn Spacecraft
'Then he became aware of a gentle pressure pushing him away from the ship.'
Biological War: A Scenario
'And now they wre busily transforming all their companions, and so on, and so on...'
Pole-Dancing Stripperbot Robot
'Why, a clockwork dancer, or, better still, one that would go by electricity and never run down...'
Collective Superintelligence Is At Hand!
'Maybe the individual intelligence of each Cubic pools into a group intelligence...'
Instant Journalists: Ordinary People With Cell Phones
'We'll show them whose planet this is!'
Health Kiosk Has No Human Doctor
'The electronic body analyzer had been developed...'
