Razer Reveals New N95 Face Mask Concept With RGB Lighting and Voice Amp Tech

At CES 2021 this week, gaming technology manufacturer Razer revealed a new concept design for a “smart mask” featuring a surgical N95 respirator, RGB lighting, and voice amplification technology. The idea behind the smart mask, dubbed Project Hazel, is to both improve safety and solve some of the social problems inherent to wearing a face mask like muffled voices while also preventing waste thanks to it being reusable.

More specifically, the Project Hazel smart mask is made of waterproof, scratch-resistant, recyclable plastic with an airtight seal made possible by its adjustable ear loops. The RGB lighting mentioned above allows for over 16 million colors and dynamic lightning to highlight the wearer’s mouth, and its charging box also includes a disinfecting UV light. And a built-in microphone can amplify the wearer’s voice. According to Razer, Project Hazel’s BFE Smart Pods can “filter at least 95% of airborne particles and have a high fluid resistance.”

Project Hazel isn’t the first time Razer has dipped into supporting the response to COVID-19. You might recall that the company made headlines in early 2020 for converting manufacturing facilities to make medical masks in order to then donate them. Project Hazel appears to be the next step in Razer’s efforts, though as a concept design, there is no telling at this point if it will make it to market or simply inform the company’s other efforts down the road.

“Razer acknowledges the uncertainty in the road ahead, and so it was our duty to help protect our community members and prepare them from invisible threats,” Min-Liang Tan, co-founder and CEO of Razer, said as part of Project Hazel’s reveal. “The Project Hazel smart mask concept is intended to be functional, yet comfortable and useful for interacting with the world, while maintaining a sociable aesthetic.”

For more on Project Hazel, including other design tidbits and photos of it being worn, you can check out Razer’s official page on the concept design. You can also check out all of our previous coverage of Razer itself right here.

What do you think of Razer‘s Project Hazel mask? Is this the sort of thing you could see yourself wearing? Let us know in the comments, or feel free to reach out and hit me up directly over on Twitter at @rollinbishop to talk about all things gaming!

[H/T GameSpot]

Note: If you purchase one of the awesome, independently chosen products featured here, we may earn a small commission from the retailer. Thank you for your support.