Story at a glance
- Rapper Will.i.am has created a high-tech face mask called the Xupermask for traveling.
- The mask comes with a HEPA air filtration system, noise-canceling audio, a microphone, Bluetooth and LED lighting.
- The Xupermask will be available April 8 for $299.
Will.i.am, the founding member of the Black Eyed Peas, has founded a new way to travel comfortably amid the coronavirus pandemic. Combining the need for safe facial coverings and the yearning for comfort and entertainment while traveling, Will.i.am has partnered with the manufacturer Honeywell to develop the Xupermask.
With three dual-speed fans and a high-efficiency particulate-arresting air filtration system to filter the air of the wearer, the Xupermask is also tech savvy, including noise-canceling audio, a microphone, Bluetooth and LED lighting.
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Will.i.am told “The Hollywood Reporter” that the idea came to him in March 2020 as he prepared to fly home amid the pandemic. “Let’s make a mask for the traveler,’ because the masks that we have were never intended for daily use … not for people to interface with tech, headphones and phones. People take off their mask and the earbuds fall out,” he said.
This isn’t the rapper’s first tech venture. He established his own technology firm, i.am+, in 2013 and created a line of bluetooth headphones called BUTTONS. However, some tech ventures he’s pursued in the past haven’t come to fruition, such as an iPhone camera and a smartwatch called Dial.
Will.i.am remains positive about the prospect of the Xupermask, as well as his opportunity to be a Black entrepreneur who can stand as a role model for the youth.
“I would like to add how blessed and thrilled I am with this collaboration with Honeywell. There’s not that many Black entrepreneurs in tech. The work that I do in the inner city, teaching kids computer science and robotics and engineering, this is confirmation that — though there are not that many people that look like them in the tech field — good ideas are needed. So this partnership means a lot, not only to me, but to the 1,200 kids that I support in the hood that I come from.”
The coronavirus pandemic has spurred numerous ways to elevate the average face mask, with fashion houses such as Dolce & Gabbana and Burberry having released high-priced, designer face masks and health-driven ones like the AirPop Active+ Halo Smart Mask, which filters the air and sends data on your breathing and the pollutants being filtered to its companion app.
The Xupermask comes in two sizes and two color schemes — white/gray/orange and black/black/orange — along with a case, three-month supply of HEPA filters, earbuds and USB-C charging cable. It will be available on April 8 for $299.
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