Haz Em is the inventor and founder of Covidisor, a spaceman-like helmet with a battery-powered respirator that keeps the coronavirus out.

The Manhattan-based architect started creating them in May.

 

What You Need To Know

  • Inventor Haz Em founded Covidisor, which sells a spaceman-like helmet with a battery-powered respirator

  • After ealizing there was a need for more protective face coverings, Em wanted to help people who are at high risk of becoming seriously ill from the virus

  • Em said one of the benefits of tha helmet is the ability to see someone's facial expressions
  • It weighs three-and-a-half pounds and is made from a polycarbonate shell

 

He got the idea after listening to a podcast and then realizing there was a need for more protective face coverings to help people who are at high risk of becoming seriously ill from the virus.

“The idea here is to provide a higher level of protection for older people than you would have with masks,” Em said. "All the air is going in and going out through the filters, and not through the bottom or, in the case of a mask, not out the top or the sides."

He said, as people wear masks, there are many instances where you can’t see someone’s facial expression. Being that Covidisor is clear, people can see someone's full face.

"In terms of whether someone is smiling or whether someone is not happy, that you can see their face, that you can see their mouth, their lips move and this is something that has been lost with wearing most masks."

It weighs three-and-a-half pounds and has a polycarbonate shell.

"Your head can carry more weight than you would think, like, if you hold it in your hand for 20 minutes you'll feel it, but if you have it on your head you're fine,” Em said while wearing one.

And in a matter of months he's been getting orders from around the country and the world. It costs $275 and he said people like the novelty of how different it is.

"The range of people who have been getting it are very interesting. We have a couple of people in the UK who are immunocompromised, one guy now wears this to go outside,” Em said.