Beautiful Virgin Islands

Monday, Jul 14, 2025

This New High-Tech Face Mask Can Translate Your Voice Into 9 Languages

With a Covid-19 vaccine still a ways off, face masks are going to be part of our everyday lives for the foreseeable future. Because of that, one Japanese startup is trying to maximize their utility. It has developed a face mask that doesn’t just provide protection; it will also translate your voice into other languages.
Donut Robotics had just unveiled the c-mask, an internet-connected “smart mask” that translates Japanese into eight other languages, reports Reuters. The white plastic face covering fits over a standard cloth mask and translates the wearer’s speech into text in another language via a smartphone or tablet.

The c-mask translates spoken words into Japanese, English, Chinese, French, Korean, Thai, Bahasa, Spanish and Vietnamese and then transmits the info to its corresponding app using Bluetooth. The app can then send out the translation as a series of text messages, make calls or amplify the wearer’s voice, something anyone who’s worn a mask in public knows is useful.

Donut Robotics’s new mask actually owes its existence to the current coronavirus outbreak. Shortly before the pandemic began, it had just secured a contract to supply robot guides and translators to Tokyo’s Haneda Airport. But with fewer people flying because of the pandemic, the company’s engineers began working on products that could help it weather the financial uncertainty of the moment. The result was the c-mask, which utilizes and adapts technology and software the company has been developing over the last half decade.

“We worked hard for years to develop a robot and we have used that technology to create a product that responds to how the coronavirus has reshaped society,” the company’s CEO Taisuke Ono told the wire service.

The c-mask, which will cost $40 a piece, was funded in part by Japanese crowdfunding site Funddido. The company initially hoped to raise 7 million yen ($65,000) through the platform, but ended up raising a total of 28 million yen ($260,000) in just 37 minutes. Donut Robotic’s first masks will be shipped to buyers in September, and the company hopes to begin selling the product in China, Europe and the US in the near future.

The mask will ship to Japanese customers in the fall and could come to the US in the near future.
Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Google Secures Windsurf AI Coding Team in $2.4 Billion Licence Deal
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
South African Police Minister Suspended Amid Organised Crime Allegations
Nvidia CEO Claims Chinese Military Reluctance to Use US AI Technology
Hong Kong Advances Digital Asset Strategy to Address Economic Challenges
Australia Rules Out Pre‑commitment of Troops, Reinforces Defence Posture Amid US‑China Tensions
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
U.S. Resumes Deportations to Third Countries After Supreme Court Ruling
Excavation Begins at Site of Mass Grave for Children at Former Irish Institution
Iranian President Reportedly Injured During Israeli Strike on Secret Facility
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Defends Attorney General Pam Bondi Amid Epstein Memo Backlash
Renault Shares Drop as CEO Luca de Meo Announces Departure Amid Reports of Move to Kering
Senior Aides for King Charles and Prince Harry Hold Secret Peace Summit
Anti‑Semitism ‘Normalised’ in Middle‑Class Britain, Says Commission Co‑Chair
King Charles Meets David Beckham at Chelsea Flower Show
If the Department is Really About Justice: Ghislaine Maxwell Should Be Freed Now
NYC Candidate Zohran Mamdani’s ‘Antifada’ Remarks Spark National Debate on Political Language and Economic Policy
President Trump Visits Flood-Ravaged Texas, Praises Community Strength and First Responders
From Mystery to Meltdown, Crisis Within the Trump Administration: Epstein Files Ignite A Deepening Rift at the Highest Levels of Government Reveals Chaos, Leaks, and Growing MAGA Backlash
Trump Slams Putin Over War Death Toll, Teases Major Russia Announcement
Reparations argument crushed
Rainmaker CEO Says Cloud Seeding Paused Before Deadly Texas Floods
A 92-year-old woman, who felt she doesn't belong in a nursing home, escaped the death-camp by climbing a gate nearly 8 ft tall
French Journalist Acquitted in Controversial Case Involving Brigitte Macron
Elon Musk’s xAI Targets $200 Billion Valuation in New Fundraising Round
Kraft Heinz Considers Splitting Off Grocery Division Amid Strategic Review
Trump Proposes Supplying Arms to Ukraine Through NATO Allies
EU Proposes New Tax on Large Companies to Boost Budget
Trump Imposes 35% Tariffs on Canadian Imports Amid Trade Tensions
Junior Doctors in the UK Prepare for Five-Day Strike Over Pay Disputes
US Opens First Rare Earth Mine in Over 70 Years in Wyoming
Kurdistan Workers Party Takes Symbolic Step Towards Peace in Northern Iraq
Bitcoin Reaches New Milestone of $116,000
Biden’s Doctor Pleads the Fifth to Avoid Self-Incrimination on President’s Medical Fitness
Grok Chatbot Faces International Backlash for Antisemitic Content
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
NVIDIA Achieves Historic Milestone as First Company Valued at $4 Trillion
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Linda Yaccarino Steps Down as CEO of X After Two Years
US Imposes New Tariffs on Brazilian Exports Amid Political Tensions
Azerbaijan and Armenia are on the brink of a historic peace deal.
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Weinstein Victim’s Lawyer Says MeToo Movement Still Strong
U.S. Enacts Sweeping Tax and Spending Legislation Amid Trade Policy Shifts
Football Mourns as Diogo Jota and Brother André Silva Laid to Rest in Portugal
×