Dyson has announced its first wearable technology product - a set of air-purifying headphones.
The company - known for its vacuum cleaners and fans - has unveiled the Dyson Zone, which it says “simultaneously” tackle the issues of air quality and noise pollution in urban areas.
The over-ear, noise-cancelling headphones deliver immersive sound to the ears, and purified airflow to the nose and mouth.
Dyson, which officially opened its new global headquarters in Singapore, said the Zone was the result of more than a decade of decade of air-quality research and development.
Compressors in each earcup draw air through dual-layer filters and project two streams of purified air to the wearer’s nose and mouth, channelled through the non-contact visor.
Engineered by teams across Dyson’s campus locations in Wiltshire and South East Asia, the firm said it had developed more than 500 prototypes of the Zone over six years.
One early design of the product included a snorkel-like clean air mouthpiece paired with a backpack to hold the motor and inner workings. Dyson said the finished product drew inspiration from a horse’s saddle, as it was made to distribute weight over the sides of the head.
The company said the headphones would be available from Autumn 2022 at Dyson Demo Stores and from its website.
Chief engineer Jake Dyson, the son of the company’s billionaire founder and owner Sir James Dyson, said: “Air pollution is a global problem – it affects us everywhere we go. In our homes, at school, at work and as we travel, whether on foot, on a bike or by public or private transport.
“The Dyson Zone purifies the air you breathe on the move. And unlike face masks, it delivers a plume of fresh air without touching your face, using high-performance filters and two miniaturised air pumps. After six years in development, we’re excited to deliver pure air and pure audio, anywhere.”
Dyson previously said its move to the restored St James Power Station in Singapore, which features 18 state-of-the-art research laboratories, would help it to enter “entirely new” fields of research, and develop new products with “increasing inbuilt intelligence.”
The company has launched its largest ever recruitment drive for engineering and digital roles to date, as it looks to take on more than 2,000 staff globally in 2022.
This includes plans to create more than 900 UK-based roles at its Wiltshire campus sites at Malmesbury and Hullavington Airfield and its software and technology hub in Bristol city centre.
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