Japanese Startup Unveils “Smart Face Masks” That Can Make Calls.

A Japanese tech startup has invented a smart face mask that can let users make calls without speaking directly to their smartphones, as long as the masks are connected to their mobile devices.

The device is named “C-Mask,” and it fits over regular, fabric-based masks. It connects to an app via Bluetooth, enabling it to transcribe speech to text messages, which are then sent via the user’s smartphone.

The “C-Mask” can also translate from Japanese into eight other languages and amplify the user’s voice, in case they can’t be heard through the mask.

Japan will be the first market to receive the C-Mask, with 5,000 units shipping from September at a price of 3,980 Japanese yen (roughly $37.23).

Inventors of the smart device, Donut Robotics are also aiming to sell the smart mask in the United States, Europe and China, where fears of a second coronavirus wave are a recurring feature of the current social and economic landscape.