I’ve come to terms that 2020 is one big fever dream.
The more that I think about my own reality, the more I feel tethered to it. I think I’m just passively accepting this year’s absurdity. Or at least, some of it that I can stand.
However, the new coronavirus protection helmet made me do a double take. If I have not accepted this dystopian reality before, it finally dawned on me when I saw it.
What I hate the most about it is that it makes perfect sense.
MicroClimate from Provo, Utah’s latest product is Isaac Asimov’s wet dream. AIR helmet is a wearable tech designed to keep users safe without isolating them from mankind. It comes with its own ventilation system, which stops the helmet from fogging up.
“The acrylic visor helmet ‘filters both inlet air and outlet air through HEPA filters that are in front of and behind our fans,’” explains Nerdist. In a video, the founder explains users of the helmet will only feel a little breeze at the back of their head. It can make us breathe easier as we venture into the new normal.
Do we look like Daft Punk stans while wearing them? Yes. Is it better than an N95? Well, hopefully.
The helmet is also waterproof. Glasses wearers can put this helmet on with ease and it accommodates wireless earphones. It comes with a carrying case and has four hours of battery life.
It comes in white, but a black version of the helmet is arriving soon. The AIR helmet costs around $199. If you’re privileged enough and tired of wearing N95s, this might be for you.
I don’t know how to feel anymore. pic.twitter.com/94eUlF6uHa
— Bryan Giardinelli (@BreatheNewWinds) September 17, 2020
In another time, I would pass off this invention as an oddity. But fuck it—it makes so much sense, it makes me angry.
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Art by Jan Cardasto