Fiona Zichen Zhang: Founder, Airlab

About my work

An innovative transparent medical-use smart membrane to filter out all harmful airborne particles.

Air is life but we are breathing dangerous air if it's not filtered properly. The increase of global pollution, allergies and viruses are detrimental to our health and are a long-term issue, however existing masks are ineffective. Single-use masks are creating devastating amounts of medical waste and are many people's go-to for casual use. 

As a nursing student, I  sympathise with all medical professionals during the pandemic who are finding existing masks very uncomfortable.  They block facial expression, cause ineffective communication in the medical field and are detrimental to children's linguistic development.  

Therefore, at Airlab we are developing a reusable medical-grade smart mask for protection against allergens, pollution, and viruses.  Our mask uses an innovative membrane that filters out all harmful airborne airborne particles down to 0.1 microns. With adhesives around edges and bendable fabric it can be shaped to fit around anyone's face perfectly.  Why risk health? Our mask is aesthetic, functional, breathable, reusable and is transparent for people to communicate and connect better.  

A memorable win

Airlab is one of the finalists for UTS Startup Award 2021. We are currently in our research stage, looking for research funding and engineers.  Let's unlock a way for people to interact with air more safely.

Websites

See my pitch at the UTS Startup Awards: https://www.uts.edu.au/current-students/opportunities/uts-startups/uts-startups-awards-2021