DONUT ROBOTICS

Smart Mask helps you to translate from Japanese and send a message

As the use of a face mask becomes the norm in the context of the coronavirus pandemic, the Japanese startup Donut Robotics has developed an intelligent internet-based mask that supports messages and can translate from Japanese into eight other languages.
A white plastic “mask c” is worn over a standard medical mask and connected via Bluetooth to a smartphone or tablet with a pre-installed application that allows you to convert speech into text messages, make calls or enhance the mask owner's voice.
Donut Robotics engineers adopted the idea of ​​creating a smart mask when looking for a product that would help the company survive the crisis due to the coronavirus pandemic. When the pandemic started, the company was awarded a contract to supply robotic guides to Tokyo International Airport. However, due to the collapse of the airline industry in connection with the coronavirus pandemic, the future of these robots was a big issue.



In just a month, Donut Robotics experts created a smart mask prototype, adapting the translation software developed for the design of robots and masks, which one of the company's engineers created four years ago for a student project.
The $ 40 Donut Robotics smart mask is intended for the mass market, formed just a few months ago. Donut Robotics' first batch of 5,000 masks will begin shipping to customers in Japan in September. The company also plans to sell them in China, the U.S. and Europe, where, according to CEO Taisuke Ono, they have shown great interest in them.

AVnews