Make the Mask a Way to Detect Disease

Had seen something similar presented,  sanitizing more complex masks was mentioned as an issue.  ,

Smart Mask Could Be Early Warning System   By South China Morning Post (Hong Kong), September 22, 2022

A team of Chinese scientists have developed a wearable bioelectric mask that can detect respiratory diseases in the air, including Covid-19 and influenza, and report results in 10 minutes.

Once connected to a wireless network, the mask can transmit real-time data to a user's mobile device, including detection alerts, according to a study published in the peer-reviewed journal Matter on Monday.

The mask is intended to be used as an early warning system to prevent future outbreaks of respiratory infectious diseases, researchers said.

These diseases are spread through the air by droplets or aerosols. But direct detection of viruses in the air can be difficult as the concentrations can be extremely low.

From South China Morning Post (Hong Kong)

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Reading Lips Thru Masks

 And even less security.

Next Generation of Hearing Aids Reads Lips Through Masks

By University of Glasgow (U.K.), September 9, 2022

An international team led by researchers at the U.K.'s University of Glasgow developed a system that can read lips accurately even through face masks using radio-frequency (RF) sensing and artificial intelligence.

The researchers had volunteers repeat vowel sounds while masked and unmasked, with RF signals from a dedicated radar sensor and a Wi-Fi transmitter used to scan their faces while speaking and while still.

The resulting 3,600 samples of data were used to train machine learning and deep learning algorithms to recognize the lip and mouth movements related to each vowel sound.

Because RF signals can pass through masks, the machine learning and deep learning algorithms were able to learn to identify vowel formation by masked speakers.  ...

To develop the system, the researchers asked male and female volunteers to repeat the five vowel sounds (A, E, I, O, and U) first while unmasked, and then while wearing a surgical mask. ... 

From University of Glasgow (U.K.)

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Kroger and Meijer give out free N95 Masks

Though I am both a Kroger and Meijer shopper I had not noted this.   Though have read that N95 are much better for the task, it is still unclear how much good they do in varying retail contexts. Still seems a good attraction for customers. 

Kroger and Meijer offering free N95 masks to customers  in Retailwire

ABC 12 NEWS  01/26/2022

Customers at Kroger and Meijer stores in Michigan can pick up free N95 masks while supplies last. “Wearing a mask and getting vaccinated continue to be the top defense tools in our nation’s fight against COVID-19,” said Dr. Marc Watkins, Kroger’s chief medical officer. “I encourage everyone to take advantage of the free non-surgical N95 masks and make an appointment today to get vaccinated or boosted.”  ... '  

Masks as Apparel

The thought came to mind as I walked retail yesterday, made me shudder as I counted the mask wearers in the aisle.   Gathering data.   There seems to be no end in sight.   As I tried to smile at a helpful employee.  Masks are becoming apparel, and they may be with us ... forever? 

Will face masks be a lifeline for apparel retail?
with 16 Expert Comments .... 

by Matthew Stern

Apparel continues to struggle amid the uncertainty of the novel coronavirus pandemic, but one brand has made the best out of the situation, pivoting to use materials already in its pipeline to create a pandemic-appropriate product.

Facing sales declines of 60 percent at the onset of the novel coronavirus outbreak, San Francisco menswear brand Blade + Blue began working with its manufacturing partner to use remnants from last season’s shirts as well as the upcoming summer season’s shirts to make masks, CNN Business reported. The brand’s founder, Peter Papas, said that the move not only saved the business, it also attracted new customers. Blade + Blue has donated some masks to healthcare workers and first responders in addition to selling them to the general public.

In addition to slowing sales and supply chain disruptions, backlogged inventory has been one of the biggest problems faced by apparel brands and retailers throughout the duration of the pandemic. Retailers with highly-seasonal stock are having to choose between holding over unreleased seasonal merchandise into the following year or selling at huge markdowns as stores slowly reopen.... "

Can Algorithms Recognized a Masked Face?

Now having worn a mask at times now in public.  I would guess, not well at all.  The makers of such recognition systems seem to scrambling.    In the recent past we might have thought it is a suspicious thing to do at at all.   I remember the first time I put one on, thinking, do I look like a robber? But now as the near normal?

How Well Can Algorithms Recognize Your Masked Face? in Wired.

Makers of facial-recognition technology scramble to adapt to a world where people routinely cover their faces to avoid spreading disease. 

  Facial Recognition Algorithms from Los Angeles startup TrueFace are good enough that the US Air Force uses them to speed security checks at base entrances. But CEO Shaun Moore says he’s facing a new question: How good is TrueFace’s technology when people are wearing face masks?

“It’s something we don’t know yet because it’s not been deployed in that environment,” Moore says. His engineers are testing their technology on masked faces and are hurriedly gathering images of masked faces to tune their machine-learning algorithms for pandemic times.  ... "