Translation tools, air purifiers: face masks go high-tech

A research fellow from the School of Materials Science and Engineering at the Nanyang Technology University wearing a face mask installed with sensors which transmit via Bluetooth readings of a person’s skin temperature, blood pressure, heart rate and blood oxygen levels to a mobile application in Singapore. — AFP

SINGAPORE: From monitoring vital signs to filtering filthy air and even translating speech into other languages, the coronavirus-fuelled boom in mask-wearing has spawned an unusual range of high-tech face coverings.

As masks become the norm worldwide, tech companies and researchers are rolling out weird and wonderful models to both guard against infection and cash in on a growing trend.