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The cutouts on the entrance are very important for breathability, so the sensible mask would not supply safety in opposition to the coronavirus. Instead, it’s designed to be worn over an ordinary face mask, explains Donut Robotics CEO Taisuke Ono. Made of white plastic and silicone, it has an embedded microphone that connects to the wearer’s smartphone through Bluetooth. The system can translate between Japanese and Chinese, Korean, Vietnamese, Indonesian, English, Spanish and French.
Donut Robotics first developed the interpretation software program for a robotic known as Cinnamon — however when the pandemic hit, the robotic challenge was placed on maintain. That’s when the group’s engineers got here up with the concept to make use of their software program in a face mask.
Donut Robotics began life in a storage in Kitakyushu City, in Fukuoka prefecture, in 2014.
Ono co-founded the corporate with engineer Takafumi Okabe with the goal to “change the world with small and mobile communication robots.”
Donut Robotics’ Cinnamon robotic — designed to supply vacationers with helpful info and assist them to navigate the airport — was one among 4 translation robotic prototypes chosen by the challenge in 2016. Haneda Robotics Lab says Cinnamon beat the competitors due to its interesting aesthetics and user-friendly design, and since the interpretation software program carried out nicely in noisy environments.
This success prompted the corporate to relocate to Tokyo and tackle three new group members.
Ono says the Donut Robotics software program makes use of machine studying developed with the assistance of translation consultants and specializes within the Japanese language. He claims that “the technology is better than Google API, or other popular technologies” for Japanese language customers, as a result of most competitor apps deal with translating to and from English.
The group began testing a prototype at Haneda Airport in 2017 and continued growing the expertise.
But earlier this yr, Covid-19 hit Asia and the airport challenge floor to a halt. “We were running short of money and wondering how to keep the company going,” says Ono.
The group sought an answer and got here up with the concept to adapt its software program for a product that may promote nicely in a pandemic.
A shortly rising market
Ono says the primary wave of distribution is predicted to happen in Japan, with 5,000 to 10,000 masks accessible by December. They can be priced at $40 to $50, he says, with an additional subscription for the app. Donut Robotics is not going to broaden abroad till April 2021 on the earliest, however there was curiosity within the UK and US, the place they plan to crowdfund on Kickstarter, says Ono.
The mask’s Bluetooth chip can connect with smartphones as much as 32 ft (10 meters) away, says Ono. He hopes the mask will make new social distancing norms in areas together with hospitals and places of work simpler, by enabling good communication. “We still have many situations where we have to meet in person,” he says. “In this new normal … the mask and the app are very helpful.”
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PreetiJha 
Vaibhav Kapoor