Dyson's first wearable air cleaner, Dyson Zone, captures the gases, allergens and particles that we are exposed to in daily life due to urban pollution, while eliminating unwanted sounds with its advanced noise canceling feature, offering smooth and high sound quality to users.
Today, Dyson Research & Development Director Jake Dyson introduced the Dyson Zone air purifier headset, Dyson's first step into wearable technology. The Dyson Zone headset provides high-quality sound and noise canceling, while providing fresh airflow to the nose and mouth. Dyson Zone air-purifying headphones, the result of more than ten years of air quality R&D work, tackle the city's air and noise pollution problems at the same time. As the world population continues to increase, the World Health Organization (WHO) states that 10 out of 9 people globally He estimates that 's is breathing polluted air well above the pollutant limits.
In places where NO19 (Nitrogen Dioxide) pollution decreased in cities during the Covid-2 pandemic, pollution levels are now rapidly returning to normal, while many cities have surpassed pre-pandemic levels. According to WHO data, it is estimated that more than 20 million people, about 100 percent of the European population, are exposed to long-term noise. We are exposed to air pollution whether we are walking, cycling, public transportation or private transportation vehicles in our homes, school, work or travel. Dyson Zone cleans the air you breathe on the go. Unlike face masks, it uses high-performance filters and two small air pumps to provide fresh air flow without touching your face. “After six years of development, we are excited to bring fresh air and smooth sound anywhere.”
6 years and 500 prototypes
The Dyson Zone air-purifying headset is the result of Dyson's 30 years of expertise in airflow, filtration and engine technologies and in-depth research into indoor and outdoor air quality. Compressors in the earcups draw air through double-layer filters and direct two streams of purified air, channeled through the contactless visor, to the wearer's nose and mouth. The shaped channels on the visor ensure that the cleaned air flow is kept close to the nose and mouth and is as little affected by the wind as possible. Dyson Zone uses advanced Active Noise Cancellation (ANC) system to stream music or sound smoothly to the user as it is. Thanks to its minimal distortion and neutral frequency response, it delivers a rich and immersive sound, providing escape from the noise of the city.
Details of the Dyson Zone design process
Originally paired with a snorkel-like fresh air mouthpiece, a deep case holding the motor and inner workings, the Dyson Zone air purifying headphones have evolved significantly over six years of development. More than 500 prototypes demonstrated that a motor initially placed on the neck became two compressors and one in each ear cup, transforming the snorkel mouthpiece into an effective, non-contact visor that delivers fresh air without full face contact. A new fresh air distribution mechanism was created. For Dyson engineers, the visor was a critical element as it was essential to develop a non-contact solution to avoid the discomfort and irritation often associated with contact. Airflow paths and visor design are central to providing pure air.
The geometries and visor channels of the visor, together with the central mesh that distributes the two airflow jets, ensure that the cleaned air from the filters is effectively transmitted to the nose and mouth in crosswinds and for the wearer's specific face shape. Dyson engineers went beyond current testing methods, using a breathing dummy equipped with medical-grade mechanical lungs and sensing equipment that "breathed" pollution by replicating human breathing patterns in a controlled room. The pollution level in the nose and throat was then measured to determine the filtering efficiency of particles that would build up in Frank's artificial lung. Precision engineered compressors inside the earphones draw air through dual-layer filters cleverly designed to fit the space constraints of a headset. A negatively charged electrostatic filter captures ultrafine particles such as allergens and particles from sources such as brake dust, industrial combustion and construction, while a potassium-enriched carbon layer captures gaseous pollutants found in cities such as NO2 (Nitrogen Dioxide) and SO2 (Sulfur Dioxide). The compressor directs the cleaned air to the nose and mouth of the user through the contactless visor formed with flexible channels.
a scientific approach
Dyson engineers took a scientific approach, choosing not to rely on the "golden listener" approach as others do. Dyson's team of sound engineers and acousticians worked to design the perfect sound, driven by measurements, backed by extensive listening trials. The result: smooth, rich sound and enhanced noise cancellation. Despite the space constraints inherent in a wearable device, Dyson engineers have developed a high-performance neodymium lectroacoustic system in each earphone. Its wide frequency response, precise left-right balance, and distortion far below what the human ear can perceive deliver faithful sound output as the musicians intended.
Engineers designed an advanced noise canceling system, solving a problem Dyson created itself. With its unique microphone array, the device's passive mute and ANC (Active Noise Cancellation) feature provides enhanced noise cancellation by reducing unwanted environmental noise and motor overtones at home, work and on the go. Wide, angled ear pads wrap around the listener's ear with a specially designed foam density and headband clamping force for both comfort and optimum noise reduction.
Designed for comfort
Every person in the world has a different head. In Dyson's first wearable, Dyson engineers had to think about comfort in a new way. Detailed research into head and face geometries meant the engineers could measure how the Dyson Zone air-purifying headset would fare and perform on different heads. The clamp strength of the headband, the geometry and materials of the visor, the adjustability of the machine, and more were all involved in this research process. Inspired by the shape and design of a horse's saddle, the Dyson Zone is designed to distribute weight to the sides of the head rather than overhead. A saddle typically curves over the horse's spine and distributes the load by contact to areas to the left and right of the spine. This method is a form used for the central cushion in the headband.
The development of ear pads is important for three reasons: comfort, overhead stability and passive noise reduction. Foam is a must-have for ear cushions, but Dyson engineers have delved into the structure of different foams to select the most suitable material based on density, compression and spring-back ratio. All of this changed the way the pressure was in contact with the head. When choosing the most suitable foam for the earcups and headband cushions, it was important to balance the comfort it provides, its stability and the acoustic benefit it provides. The molding around the ear increased the size of the contact points, providing better insulation while freeing the ear from the noise of the city. The cushion is flatter compared to traditional ear cushions for both sound reduction and comfort, and the cushions align with the angle at the ear for optimum comfort.
The Dyson Zone air-purifying headset has been designed by teams in the UK, Singapore, Malaysia and China at our South East Asian campuses, with a special focus on software. Mobile app development and integration was a critical project to ensure seamless connectivity and provide smart air and noise pollution monitoring features. Robustness and durability are at the most critical points of the product for the user. Like all Dyson machines, the Dyson Zone air-purifying headset has been tested to the extreme in temperature-controlled rooms, drop testing, material and fabric abrasion testing, button durability and much more. The expert test engineers at the Dyson Malaysia Development Center are an integral part of this test due to their geography, allowing the development process to be accelerated in warmer climates and higher humidity compared to UK-based testing.
About the Dyson Zone air-purifying headset
- Effective new format to provide fresh air and high quality sound on the go
- Electrostatic filtration captures 0,1% of particles as small as 99 micron such as dust and pollen
- The potassium-enriched carbon filter captures urban gases such as NO2 (Nitrogen Dioxide), SO2 (Sulfur Dioxide) and O3 (Ozone).
- The non-contact air distribution visor is designed to direct the fresh air flow from both sides to the nose and mouth, especially for use outdoors and in windy weather.
- The most important parts of the Dyson Zone air-purifying headset are the two small motors in each earbud. These engines are the smallest ever found in any Dyson machine.
- Advanced ANC (Active Noise Cancellation) and high-performance neodymium electroacoustic system deliver rich, immersive sound that replicates sound exactly as the artist or creator intended
- 15 undergraduate students from the Dyson Institute of Engineering and Technology worked on the Dyson Zone project, which supported areas as diverse as acoustic enhancement, electronics and airflow systems.
- 3 ANC (Active Noise Cancellation) modes: Isolation, Speech and Transparent
- Isolation mode: The highest level of active noise cancellation to provide a rich, immersive audio experience. This feature will help you concentrate while working while using your headphones.
- Speech mode is activated when you tilt the viewfinder – automatically turns off air purification and amplifies speech to save battery power
- Transparent mode is designed to keep you aware of your surroundings by amplifying essential sounds such as emergency sirens or informational announcements.
The Dyson Zone has 4 air purification modes: Low, Medium, High and Auto. Because different levels of effort require different breathing patterns, Dyson Zone air-purifying headphones are informed by accelerometers and automatically switch between High, Medium, and Low cleaning rates as needed in Auto mode.
4 formats:
- Combination of air purification, audio playback and ANC (Active Noise Cancellation). In this case, the viewfinder remains attached.
- The machine can only be used for sound. In this case the viewfinder can be moved
- For situations that require the use of a community face mask, the community face mask insert provides a sealed solution. This attachment comes out of the box
- In geographies or situations requiring FFP2 (A type of respirator) compliant face protection, an FFP2 face shield insert meets the required filtering standard. This attachment comes out of the box
Dyson's expertise in air quality
Dyson engineers have been removing airborne particles for 30 years. In this adventure that started with cyclone technology and the world's first bagless vacuum cleaner, cordless, robotic and versatile vacuum cleaners, hand dryers, air cleaners with humidification have emerged since the past. Since the birth of the Dyson Air Purification category, researching indoor and outdoor air quality over the past decade has become a Dyson top priority.
In 2009, Dyson introduced the first fanless fan, and our engineers turned their attention not just to moving air, but to cooling or heating people and spaces with fresh air. The first Dyson air purifiers were introduced in 2015 and have since evolved to include formaldehyde removal, hygienic humidification and full machine HEPA filtration. Dyson Zone air-purifying headphones have stepped into Dyson's world of wearable technology and audio, taking the high-quality filtration performance our machines offer to users on the go to the next level.
In addition to product development, Dyson collaborates with research institutions and academic institutions to advance understanding of air quality globally. In 2019, Dyson engineers developed the Dyson Air Quality backpack for the Breathe London Wearables project. 250 students donned the backpack, equipped with particle and gas sensors, GPS, and a battery pack, to measure their pollution exposure to and from school. The data continues to support further research on air quality, with 31% of children participating since the start of the study changing their mode of transport to minimize exposure to pollution.
From the outset, the Air Quality backpack has been used in more than 14 cities around the world to educate individuals about their personal air quality exposures, as part of the Dyson Research Air Quality: Pandemic project. The backpacks are currently being used in sub-Saharan Africa to measure asthma rates among African children as part of the CAPPA project (Children's Air Pollution Profiles in Africa) run by Queen Mary University of London. Dyson works with leading academics and experts around the world who make up the Dyson Scientific Advisory Board. The James Dyson Foundation demonstrates the importance of air quality education in schools, by providing at-home, primary and secondary education resources, helping students recognize and understand air pollution indoors and outdoors, helping them tackle the problem in a hands-on way. Students design their own air pollution monitor. For more information, please visit the James Dyson Foundation website.
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