At the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, Razer began converting some of its manufacturing facilities to make masks for frontline workers. So far, they have donated more than a million masks worldwide to hospitals, governments and other healthcare organizations, but now Razer is giving its own take on this vital part of our lives with the Hazel Project concept. Dubbed the smartest face mask in the world, Project Hazel has a clear and transparent design with a built-in voice amplifier to facilitate conversation with people around you, and also cleans and disinfects using ultraviolet lights inside your special charging box. Why does a face mask need a refill box, I hear your question? Well, it has Razer Chroma RGBs built in, doesn’t it?
Yes, you read correctly. RGBs in a face mask.
Don’t be fooled by these rainbow circles, because although it looks like something straight out of Metro 2033 or Division 2, Project Hazel is equipped with some serious anti-Covid technology. The first is its medical-grade N95 respirator (or FFTP2 for those in Europe), which blocks at least 95% of airborne particles. This standard is widely used by healthcare professionals in general, but while some more traditional N95 respirators may be difficult to breathe due to their ultra-thin fit and lack of ventilation, Razer has equipped Project Hazel with active detachable ventilators to help regulate the air flow inside the mask.
These fans and the mask itself can also be disinfected simply by placing them inside your cargo box. It has four ultraviolet lamps inside (two at the top, one at the rear and one at the front) that will sterilize everything while the mask is charging, so that you are protected.
Project Hazel doesn’t stop there either, as it also has a built-in microphone and patent-pending Razer VoiceAmp technology to help make your speech clearer and less muffled. Combine that with its clear, transparent design that really lets you see if someone is smiling / frowning at you (which also has built-in white LEDs to illuminate your face in low light environments, I might add), and you shouldn’t need to resort to big, emphatic hand gestures again and again just to say, “Please get the hell out of me.”
Razer does not yet have an exact price or launch date for Project Hazel, but it will definitely be here much sooner than its other recently announced CES concept product, Project Brooklyn. Razer told me that it already has a functional prototype up and running, but as with all of its concept ideas, they will make further adjustments and optimizations in the coming weeks and months to ensure that it meets all necessary safety standards, without making any concessions in comfort or usability.