A Xiaomi 'smart mask' may be in the making, suggests a recent patent that was filed with the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The patent details a pollution mask design that has embedded sensors and a board including a processor, connectivity module, memory and power source, which improves the overall utility of a pollution mask and effectively turns it into a healthcare wearable. The patent has been seemingly granted only today, after nearly three and a half years of Xiaomi having filed it with the USPTO, reports 91mobiles who first spotted the mask's patent.
According to the report, the mask will apparently be able to record metrics such as total polluting particles absorbed by the mask's filter, and tally it with data from sensors that details total wearing time, respiratory volumes of individuals, total number of breaths, as well as the movement of a user that can affect breathing patterns. This data can be sent to a companion app on a smartphone, and subsequently compared with data regarding the air quality index of the city that a user is at. The mask will also adjudge what the report states is the "filtration efficiency" of the mask's filters, and all these factors can be computed to give users comprehensive details regarding the quality of air that they are breathing.
While the Xiaomi smart mask is only a patent right now, it would be completely probable for the company to introduce it as a product for the masses, given users can swap filters as required. Such a mask can help users understand their breathing air quality, and help pre-detect any ailments that can rise due to air pollution. Such a product can also help detect issues with lung capacity, which is a common victim to the spread of air pollution. Going forward, it will be interesting to see whether such a smart mask becomes a mainstream product.
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