A dentist. A husband and a rocket scientist. A few smart students. A global challenge. And a next-gen mask for heroes.

The dentist

Georgina enjoyed everything about dental school—except wearing a surgical mask. Not long into a dental procedure, the mask would quickly feel hot and uncomfortable. “It’s like you are drowning in there,” she would complain to her husband.

The husband and the rocket scientist

Ron, an entrepreneur, wanted to help his wife. So he began researching masks. Turns out, mask users have been complaining for decades about the constant buildup of heat and humidity. If only surgical masks could be more comfortable!

So Ron, Georgina and their friend Bill, an actual rocket scientist, decided to reinvent the mask.

The Students and the Challenge

Ron and Bill recruited the perfect mask development partner: Luminosity Lab at Arizona State University. This interdisciplinary research and development lab of hand-picked and top-performing students develops novel solutions to the world’s most pressing problems.

Team Luminosity Lab took the challenge and went to work. Serendipity manifested itself in the form of the XPRIZE Challenge at the most opportune moment. This elite team of young technologists entered this mask design into the XPRIZE Foundation’s Next-Gen Mask Challenge. XPRIZE is the global leader in solving the world’s grand challenges by creating and managing large-scale competitions that challenge industries to innovate and dare the broader scientific community to overcome conventional thinking.

Of 1,000 teams, from 76 countries, AirFloe Mask advanced to the top 10 semi-finals round. That’s quite an honor—and testament to the efficacy of the AirFloe Mask.

The Future of AirFloe Mask

The coronavirus pandemic has greatly increased the demand for masks as well as shed more light on the problems with those currently used by medical professionals.

Our brave healthcare workers deserve better. Our frontline workers deserve better.