Why did the big tech company scrap its car project before even a single prototype hit the road? Here’s the inside scoop.
Check out this reusable, affordable mask as effective as an N95
© MIT News | MIT
At the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, consumers made a mad rush to their local hardware stores for N95 masks. Of all the common masks you can buy, N95 masks are the only ones that are actually capable of filtering out the novel coronavirus and protecting the wearer.
To this day, these masks are still in critically short supply. This is an issue for the nation’s essential healthcare workers, who need these masks to protect themselves while they treat patients who are sick with the virus. Tap or click here to see what you need to make your own mask at home.
But those days may soon be coming to an end, thanks to a radical new mask designed by engineers at MIT. The mask uses less of the precious N95 material than current designs, which means there will be plenty to go around once production can ramp up for both medical personnel and civilians. Plus, it’s completely reusable. Here’s what we know.
Better design, better mask
Engineers at MIT and Brigham and Women’s Hospital have developed a new design for face masks that work as well as an N95 respirator at filtering viral particles. These masks use the same material to do their job, but compared to existing N95 masks, they use only a fraction of the compound.
Dubbed the iMASC, which stands for Injection Molded Autoclavable, Scalable, Conformable, this headgear relies on two interchangeable pads of N95 material for particle filtration. The rest of the face is sealed from the outside air using injection molded silicone, which can be easily sterilized and cleaned for reuse.
A single mask can be worn time and time again so long as the filters are changed regularly, and early adopters say they’re far more comfortable than traditional N95 masks. Better yet, these masks require much less N95 material to create, which cuts the cost of production significantly.
According to CNBC News, researchers behind the iMASC project say it could cost as low as $15 per unit! It’s a bit more expensive than a traditional N95 mask up front, but considering that you can wear the headgear again and again compared to N95 masks, the entire thing pays for itself in the end.
Where can I get this new mask?
As of now, the iMASC is still in the prototype stage, and no plans for mass production have been truly formalized just yet. The goal, according to the researchers, is to make the masks widely available for healthcare workers and the general public alike.
🤖 OpenAI is building a social network: It’ll be its own version of X. The prototype apparently has a social feed focused on image generation using ChatGPT. No word yet if it’ll be a new app or built into the current one. Why do this? Real-time user data = more fuel to train their models.
280 mph
Top speed for China’s new bullet train prototype. That’s a world record and fast enough to zip from New York to Chicago in under three hours. China’s current fastest trains max out at 220 mph. The fastest Amtrak trains go 160 mph, but most top out closer to 100 mph. We really need better trains in the U.S.
🚀 I’m fired up to see this: Jeff Bezos’ Blue Orbit is launching its first New Glenn rocket tomorrow from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The last launch was delayed because of rough seas. Onboard is a prototype of Blue Ring, a spacecraft designed to repair satellites and do secret spy stuff funded by the U.S. Defense Department. The launch window opens at 1 a.m. EST. Hit this link to watch the action live.