Face masks provide effective, easy-to-use, and low-cost protection against airborne pathogens or infectious agents, including SARS-CoV-2. Existing masks are all passive in nature, i.e., simply act as air filters for the nasal passage and/or mouth. This article presents a new “active mask” paradigm, in which the wearable device is equipped with smart sensors and actuators to both detect the presence of airborne pathogens in real time and take appropriate action to mitigate the threat. The proposed approach is based on a closed-loop control system that senses airborne particles of different sizes near the mask and then makes intelligent decisions to reduce their concentrations. In the current implementation, an on-board controller determines ambient air quality via a commercial particulate matter sensor, and if necessary activates a piezoelectric actuator that generates a mist spray to load these particles, thus causing them to fall to the ground. The system communicates with the user via a smart phone application that provides various alerts, including the need to recharge and/or decontaminate the mask prior to reuse. The application also enables a user to override the on-board control system and manually control the mist generator if necessary. Experimental results from a functional prototype demonstrate significant reduction in airborne PM counts near the mask when the active protection system is enabled.

中文翻译：

---

主动防御冠状病毒和其他空气传播病原体的智能面罩

面罩可有效，易于使用且低成本地防御空气传播的病原体或传染性病原体，包括SARS-CoV-2。现有的面罩本质上都是被动的，即仅用作鼻道和/或口的空气过滤器。本文提出了一种新的“主动口罩”范式，其中可穿戴设备配备了智能传感器和执行器，可以实时检测空气传播的病原体的存在，并采取适当的措施来减轻威胁。所提出的方法基于闭环控制系统，该系统可感测口罩附近不同大小的空气传播颗粒，然后做出明智的决定以降低其浓度。在当前的实现中，车载控制器通过商用颗粒物传感器确定环境空气质量，并在必要时激活压电致动器，该致动器产生雾状喷雾以加载这些粒子，从而使它们掉落到地面。该系统通过提供各种警报的智能电话应用程序与用户进行通信，包括在重新使用之前需要对面罩进行充电和/或消毒。该应用程序还使用户能够超越车载控制系统，并在必要时手动控制雾气发生器。功能原型的实验结果表明，启用主动保护系统后，口罩附近的机载PM计数显着减少。包括在重新使用之前对面罩进行充电和/或消毒的需求。该应用程序还使用户能够超越车载控制系统，并在必要时手动控制雾气发生器。功能原型的实验结果表明，启用主动保护系统后，口罩附近的机载PM计数显着减少。包括在重新使用之前对面罩进行充电和/或消毒的需求。该应用程序还使用户能够超越车载控制系统，并在必要时手动控制雾气发生器。功能原型的实验结果表明，启用主动保护系统后，口罩附近的机载PM计数显着减少。