wearables | Dyson

Visor engineering and social acceptance research for the Dyson Zone, Dyson’s wearable air purifier.

problem

A wearable air purifier has two problems a vacuum cleaner never has. The visor has to deliver clean air to faces of different shapes without touching them, and people have to be willing to wear it in public.

solution

Facial anthropometrics across different populations set the visor geometry, validated in Dyson’s purification test lab and in user trials in China. Alongside, a technology acceptance programme on the TAM2 framework tested colour, geometry and design language with wearers, and was later formalised as a product verification test.

The Dyson Zone, from the visor assembly to the question of whether people would wear it. Much of the detail is under NDA; this is what can be said.

The visor was the hard part: a non-contact part that has to isolate the breathing zone on faces that vary across populations. Airflow and optimisation models set the gap, functional prototypes were built, and user trials were run in China to refine fit, performance and comfort.

Social acceptance was the other question for a new product category. A testing programme on the TAM2 framework evaluated colour, geometry and design language with wearers in Shanghai and Beijing, produced design guidelines for future head-worn products, and became a product verification test.

role: Project lead, employed at Dyson
year: 2023
timeframe: 2 years
tools: Siemens NX, 3D printing, vac casting, TAM2
category: design & research