Researchers from the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev have designed a new face mask to assist those with hearing disabilities who often read lips as their primary form of communication, in the coronavirus pandemic.
Carolina Tannenbaum-Baruchi, a doctoral student at the Ben-Gurion University of the Negev School of Public Health, teamed up with a high school robotics team from Dimona, to developed the ‘Read my Lips’ mask that allows those to see the mouth and lips of those who wear it.
Tannenbaum-Baruchi’s parents are both deaf, and needed a solution which not only provides a mask which has clear plastic over the mouth, but one that does not fog up when the person wearing it talks. The mask is reusable, and can be washed.
She joined forces with ‘Roboactive # 2096’, a robotics team at the Zinman Darca High School in Dimona. In less than a month, the students had successfully developed the mask.
“The coronavirus requires us to wear masks that cover our mouths. Consequently, hearing-impaired people can’t communicate using lip-reading,” the robot team tweeted. “With Ben Gurion University we’ve created a no-vapors mask which allows easy breathing and lip-reading”.
In order to make it more affordable, the team sourced the materials which were then applied to use on a 3-D printer.
“Right now the mask costs us 15.5 shekels to make,” robot team mentor Maayan Levin said in a Kan Channel 11 report that featured the group on the national news. “We want to lower the price and especially to make it available to the hearing disabled population at cost price”.
The Israeli team also hopes that the mask could be shipped abroad to aid the crisis caused by Covid-19 in other countries.
Those who want to simply order the mask or rather get access to the plans to print their own, can do so by filling out a form supplied online by the tech team.
