Launched back in June of 2020, the XPRIZE Next-Gen Mask Challenge tasked inventors between the ages of 15 and 24 to look toward the future and develop a new generation of face masks. 992 teams from 76 countries, almost everywhere on earth, answered the call. They set their sights on developing a mask that circumvents or overcomes five of the top ten identified barriers to mask-wearing.
At the conclusion of the pitch slam the winner and runners-up were named. Luminosity Lab took the top prize purse worth $500,000, while Polair from Maryland and Najia Force from Nigeria split $500,000 as the two runners-up.
The top ten Mask barriers include problems such as traditional masks fogging up glasses, general discomfort, breathing difficulties, preventing eating or drinking, difficulty acquiring, as well as simpler problems such as looking ugly or boring.
Luminosity Lab’s FloeMask tackled these problems with a bifurcated filtration chamber to divert heat away from the wearer’s face, allowing breathability for everyday use including exercise.
Luminosity Labs is comprised of five students from Arizona State University. Jerina Winter Gabriel, John Patterson, Katie Sue Pascavis, Tarun Shresh, and Nikhil Dave all participated in the XPRIZE challenge thanks to their shared desire to provide a better method of protection for those wearing masks. This isn’t the group’s first foray into helping those in need during the pandemic, with Luminosity Lab also launching the PPE Response Network within the first few months of the pandemic.
“When we started this journey, we wanted to create awareness among young people for the need to wear masks,” explained CNBC Mad Money host Jim Cramer who sponsored the competition with Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff. “We are gratified to have so many entries from around the world. Now the hard work begins as our young champions set out to develop these masks into ones that will be demonstrated to be effective and can be worn around the globe to try to stop the spread of COVID-19.”
Learn about another XPRIZE competition focusing on Building Charter Communities’ Housing
