We expected Dyson, the specialist in cyclonic vacuum cleaners, in the house, rather than in our streets. However, the British firm announces today to launch its first wearable… noise reduction headphones equipped with an air filtration system! Its name, the Dyson Zone. At first glance, the object is scary. One would think it borrowed from the panoply of the hero of a film of anticipation. A bad movie, in this case, since the Dyson Zone is destined to follow us in our movements in the heart of hostile, noisy and polluted environments.
Five hundred prototypes in six years
Noise, pollution, bacteria… the Dyson Zone wants to help us fight against the ills of our world. However, it was not born of the last rain. The manufacturer of vacuum cleaners and air purifiers announces that it has been working on this project for six years. By dint of miniaturization, Dyson claims to have developed 500 prototypes of its helmet, going from a first project in which the device was associated with a backpack containing all its filtration mechanics, to that of a perfectly autonomous helmet. .
If the Dyson Zone still seems quite massive (despite our questions, the manufacturer does not communicate the weight), the device would be operational.
99% filtered pollution
The Dyson Zone has two batteries in its headband. Each headset, which contains neodymium speakers, has compressors that suck in air, filter it, then channel it to the mouth of the user, who can inhale it without contact with the mask. Dyson claims a filtration level of 99% using potassium-enriched carbon filters.
These are capable of capturing city gas pollutants, such as nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and sulfur dioxide (SO2). Fine particles down to 0.1 micron, dust, pollen and bacteria would be neutralized. The Dyson Zone has four filtration modes: low, medium, high and automatic. This last mode adapts to the intensity of the user’s breathing.
11 microphones for noise cancellation
For its part, the audio part of the helmet for which Dyson provides only few details has a noise reduction system at three levels: isolation, conversation and transparency. The manufacturer specifies that in conversation mode, the purification of the air is automatically interrupted to “save battery and better communicate with his interlocutor”. We can also wonder if this system is not a little noisy… The helmet would carry 11 microphones allowing it to perfectly analyze its external environment, but also inside by monitoring the sound of the motors and compressors on board.
The Dyson Zone will be configurable through an application. The futuristic headphones are expected to have a battery life of 6 hours with audio, noise reduction and filtration activated, and 4.5 hours in intensive mode. Which seems little and which probably reserves the Dyson Zone first and foremost for professional applications.
Surprising, intriguing, probably also worrying, the Dyson Zone seems to want to concentrate the know-how of its manufacturer at the origin of the bagless vacuum cleaner and more and more invested in the theme of air quality. Without announcing a price, Dyson plans to market the Dyson Zone in 2023.