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A new 'smart' face mask can translate speech into eight languages

Jul 21, 2020

1 MIN READ
Young female backpacker checking her train arrival on a digital timetable board.

By double and triple-checking everything you're sure to avoid hiccups and be pleasantly surprised when things go smoothly. Thianchai Sitthikongsak / Getty Images

Lauren Keith

Writer

Kansas City, MO

I'm a US/UK-based freelance travel writer and guidebook author specializing in off-the-beaten-track and underloved places from the Midwest to the Middle East. For several years, I worked as Lonely Planet’s editor for Middle East and North Africa, and I continue to travel the region widely, from scouting out traces of the Islamic empire on the southernmost tip of Spain to walking alongside nomads in the remote mountains of Iran. Originally from Kansas, I also lived in Germany for a year and …
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A Japanese robotics startup has released what it’s calling the ‘world’s first smart mask’ that both protects during a pandemic and translates into eight languages, making communication easier when your face is partially covered.

Dubbed ‘C-FACE’, the plastic smart mask is placed on the outside of a standard sized mask and connects to the wearer’s smartphone using Bluetooth and transcribes conversations through an app. At the moment, the mask translates from Japanese into Chinese, English, French, Indonesian, Korean, Spanish, Thai and Vietnamese. The mask also helps amplify the user’s voice through their phone.

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Just before the coronavirus pandemic hit, the company, called Donut Robotics, had secured an agreement with Haneda Airport in Tokyo to supply robots to supply tourist information and translations, but with air travel still uncertain, the company pivoted to tech that would be beneficial to people in an era of social distancing and the worldwide adoption of mask wearing.

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Travelers will rely on smart phone apps even more than before © LDprod / Shutterstock
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The smart mask has already sparked huge interest, raising more than US$260,000 in crowdfunding in just 37 minutes. The company is thinking about adding augmented reality and virtual reality components in later versions, meaning it will be easier to translate from images.

The masks are available for about US$40, and the app’s translation services are available through a monthly subscription. The first masks will be available in Japan in September, with orders shipping to Europe, the United States and China soon after.

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