Morocco's 'little inventor' behind smart coronavirus protective mask

A Moroccan boy has kept himself busy during the coronavirus lockdown by creating a smart protective facemask and goggles.

Dubbed Morocco’s ‘little inventor’, eleven-year-old Muhammad Bilal Hamouti spends much of his time coming up with ideas and putting together electronic components to create innovative projects. “I’m very passionate about electronics and robotics,” Hamouti told Anadolu Agency.

“My dream has always been to create and invent useful things myself and thankfully I have managed to make something on my own.”

“I constantly hear on the news about safe social distancing so I got the idea for these goggles and I made them,” he continued, describing his inspiration for his latest invention. “If the distance is less than a metre numbers show up [on the glasses] but also a siren goes off to alert whoever is wearing them.”

“The second invention is a smart mask that can help workers who need to go out and work outside their homes, particularly those working in factories and hot environments,” he said, adding that the summer temperatures inspired him to come up with the mask, which operates using movement sensors to detect a safe social distance and automatically uncover the mouth and nose.

“If the distance is less than 1 or 2 metres, depending on the selected setting, the mask goes up to cover the nose and mouth,” he added.

Hamouti hopes his inventions will prevent the spread of COVID-19. “I made a simple prototype and I hope a company will take it on and improve it.”

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