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Integration of IoT Sensors to Determine Life Expectancy of Face Masks
journal contribution
posted on 2023-02-08, 23:36 authored by V Ratnayake Mudiyanselage, Kevin LeeKevin Lee, A HassaniPersonal protective equipment (PPE) is widely used around the world to protect against environmental hazards. With the emergence of the COVID-19 virus, the use of PPE domestically has increased dramatically. People use preventive and protective mechanisms now more than ever, leading to the important question of how protective is the PPE that is being used. Face masks are highly recommended or mandatory during the time of the COVID-19 pandemic due to their protective features against aerosol droplets. However, an issue faced by many users of face masks is that they are entirely manual, with users having to decide for themselves whether their mask is still protective or if they should replace their mask. Due to the difficulty in determining this, people tend to overuse masks beyond their optimal usage. The research presented in this paper is an investigation of the viability of integrating IoT sensors into masks that are capable of collecting data to determine its usage. This paper demonstrates the usage of humidity and temperature sensors for the purpose of determining a mask’s usage status based on changes in these variables when a mask is put on and taken off. An evaluation was made on the usage of the two sensors, with the conclusion that a humidity sensor provides more accurate results. From this, we present a framework that takes into consideration the factors that affect a mask’s performance, such as time, humidity and temperature, to calculate the life expectancy of a mask.
History
Journal
SensorsVolume
22Article number
ARTN 9463Location
SwitzerlandPublisher DOI
ISSN
1424-8220eISSN
1424-8220Language
EnglishPublication classification
C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journalIssue
23Publisher
MDPIUsage metrics
Categories
Keywords
Science & TechnologyPhysical SciencesTechnologyChemistry, AnalyticalEngineering, Electrical & ElectronicInstruments & InstrumentationChemistryEngineeringinternet of thingssensorssmart maskspersonal protective equipmentface masksmask performancemask efficiencyHumansPandemicsMasksCOVID-19Respiratory Aerosols and DropletsLife ExpectancyEcologyEnvironmental Science and Management not elsewhere classifiedElectrical and Electronic Engineering not elsewhere classifiedDistributed ComputingAnalytical Chemistry not elsewhere classified