This Hoodie Ventilation System Gives You a Breath of (Somewhat) Fresh Air

With current concerns about the coronavirus/COVID-19, there has naturally been a lot of thought about personal hygiene and keeping the air around you clean. While Elias Henrich's "Clean Air Bubble" won’t necessarily protect you from airborne diseases — and hasn’t been scientifically tested — it’s an interesting idea that probably couldn’t hurt.

The device is basically a pair of fans sewn into a hooded sweatshirt, pulling in outside air that is passed through a filter before exiting through a nozzle near the wearer’s face. It’s powered by a 14.4V/2.5Ah battery pack recycled from a Bosch drill, and uses a step-up converter to transform this to 24V to supply the fans.

Parts for the Clean Air Bubble were printed on a Monoprice Select Mini V2 3D printer, and as the longest edge needed is under 12 centimeters (4.7 inches), making it pretty accessible. Completing the build also required a hot glue gun and a sewing kit, along with a soldering iron to press in threaded nut inserts. Henrich notes that he’s fairly new to the art of sewing, but even so the results don’t look too bad!

Although perhaps best thought of as a novelty item, it could at least provide some relief for dusty and/or smelly environments, and the concept could be expanded in lots of different ways. If nothing else, it’s less conspicuous than wearing a bucket on your head in public.