When it comes to wearing a face mask, there are many reasons to do so – perhaps you do not want to catch a bug that is going around, or on the other hand, you happen to be a little bit off color, and do not want to be the cause of an epidemic by spreading them nasty germs around each time you cough or sneeze. In fact, throughout various countries in Asia, South East Asia especially, masks have a tendency of being worn to protect oneself against the deteriorating air quality in the area. However, you are unable to catch a lovely smile of someone behind the mask – but hey, safety first, no? Designers Simone Rebaudengo and Paul Adams have come up with the Unmask, which so happens to be an experimental prototype which intends to allow folks to show emotions via their masks.
This is made possible through the presence of an Arduino board, an LED display as well as a cornucopia of other components. With the Unmask, it will show off one of four emotional states, where they are neutral, smiling, surprise and kiss. So far, no plans have been drawn up to commercialize the Unmask at the moment, which means it will remain as a playful experiment with it being one part social statement. Fret not, the designer pair intend to develop the idea even further, with the objective of coming up with masks that will make use of smaller components and different materials down the road.
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