The 130th Installment
Making masks for New Year's Day
by Hiroaki Tobita,
Professor
Along with the growing demand for masks due to the COVID-19 pandemic, various masks with a wide variety of materials and designs are being sold. The effectiveness of masks in suppressing droplets has been reported in simulations using the supercomputer Fugaku [1]. The simulation visualized the spread of droplets with and without masks, and compared the droplet control effects of non-woven and handmade cloth masks. I am sure many people have seen the CG animations of droplets spreading in the news. By the way, I use cloth masks and non-woven masks for different purpose, and do not pay particular attention about their shape or color.
In addition to preventing viruses, masks with new features have also appeared. For example, the Breeze Mask sold by Philips effectively ventilates air by incorporating a small fan into the mask, and also prevents steam inside the mask [2]. Naturally, this mask also performs its original function of dealing with things such as pollen and viruses. It costs about 10,000 yen, which is surprisingly expensive compared to a typical non-woven mask, but it is very popular. The Breeze Mask takes the approach of turning masks into devices, but it is also unique in that, unlike glasses-type devices such as Google Glass that have cameras and sensors, the device-integrated mask can be worn normally in public.
This approach of turning masks into devices is not limited to products. Many innovative masks based on free ideas have been proposed at Maker Faires and manufacturing workshops held in various places [3]. Many people have already experienced homemade masks made by choosing the cloth they like. However, at a Maker Faire, there was a prototype of a mask that covers not only the face but also the head, and the Maker-like approach can be seen in the way the mask is made, along with data that can be output using a 3D printer. In my class called “IoT Theory,” I decided to assign students the task of turning a mask into a device.
IoT Theory is a class that was offered in the Information Systems Architecture course at AIIT in the 4Q of the 2020 academic year (December 2020-February 2021). This class was taught by Professor Narita until 2019 and focused primarily on internet technology, but I changed the content to use Arduino (a type of all-in-one microcontroller) and other platforms starting in the 2020 academic year. IoT stands for the Internet of Things, and has been the focus of much attention as new services or systems that combine devices, networks, and data processing to connect things to the internet (Note: IoT itself is a buzzword and is defined in various ways.). The class covered theoretical topics of IoT, but was also conducted in a hands-on format, with prototyping exercises using the Arduino platform, where students could check operations by actually working with their hands. Since the majority of classes in the Information Systems Architecture Course are about software and there are few that deal with hardware, many of the students had never used Arduino before. In addition, because the classes were conducted on Zoom, it was not possible to see the students directly or to give advice according to the situation, as is the case with face-to-face classes in the classroom. Because of this, I tried to carefully convey from the basics such as how to use various sensors.
With Christmas and the New Year's holiday during 4Q, I felt bad for the students taking the course then but decided to give them an assignment. It was to create a prototype of an idea using Arduino and a mask, and to give a presentation. The first step is to set the problems of existing masks and to solve them through a mask device. I also asked them to use items from 100-yen stores and that easily be found around them, placing more emphasis on interesting prototypes than perfection. Because I was teaching the class from this year and the content was new, I started the new year with anxiety and anticipation about the kinds of presentations the students would make.
For the prototype presentations, each student had only four to five minutes because there were 20 students enrolled in the class (in fact, the presentations went only a few minutes over the scheduled class time). Although some students had similar ideas, the prototypes they made and the way they were presented were all unique. There were many masks that could assist conversations, automatically open and close only when food is brought close to mouths, or exchange the airflow, and the prototypes were put together using everyday materials. In particular, a mask made from disassembling simple headphones and incorporated the necessary components into the prototype, as well as one that effectively took in fresh air from overhead, made a great and interesting impact in the photos and demonstration video. I am sure that the many comments from the students served as good motivation for them all.
I will continue to teach the class during the next academic year, and am preparing a new assignment as well as carefully reviewing the class content. AIIT asks students to take a class questionnaire, and the class format was generally well received by them. However, the Q&A session after each presentation was too short due to the amount of time each person had, which is something that needs to be improved. I will continue the prototype presentations in the next academic year, and look forward to presentations that defy my expectations in a good way.
1. https://pc.watch.impress.co.jp/docs/news/1272611.html