A University of Michigan startup has developed a so-called air curtain that emerges from the brim of a hard hat so that it can prevent 99.8% of aerosols from reaching a worker's face.

According to startup Taza Aya, the technology promises to protect workers in industries where respiratory disease transmission is a concern.

Source: University of Michigan

The air curtain is curved to encircle the face of the wearer, emerging from nozzles at the hard hat's brim. Developers explained that the air curtain effectively removes and kills 99% of airborne viruses in farm and laboratory settings.

"Our air curtain technology is precisely designed to protect wearers from airborne infectious pathogens, using treated air as a barrier in which any pathogens present have been inactivated so that they are no longer able to infect you if you breathe them in," the company explained. "It's virtually unheard of — our level of protection against airborne germs, especially when combined with the improved ergonomics it also provides."

A prototype of the air curtain features a backpack that weighs about 10 lbs, and carries a nonthermal plasma module, an air handler, assorted electronics and the unit's battery pack. The team explained that the handler draws air into the module where it is treated before flowing to the air curtain's nozzle array.

For more on the air curtain, watch accompanying video that appears courtesy of the University of Michigan.