This Smart Air Filter Wants You to Breathe Easier

You can't see what's in the air that you breathe. But the sensor fastened to the Wynd air purifier can effigy that out for yous, and actually exercise something to clean up that air earlier it hits your lungs.

Developed by Wynd Technologies, the Wynd device features a detachable sensor that can monitor air quality, adjusting the air purifier when it detects besides much pollen, pet dander, allergens and anything else you'd be better off not breathing in. Wynd launches a crowdfunding entrada on Kickstarter today (June two) with an introductory price of $139. The air purifier is expected to ship later this twelvemonth by November with a $189 toll tag.

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Portability is the proper name of the game with Wynd. At half dozen.seven inches tall and 2.eight inches at its base, the cylindrical air purifier is smaller than a water bottle. It's also lightweight — the purifier weighs less than 1 pound, Wynd Technologies CEO Ray Wu told me when demoing the device — meaning you lot can take information technology with you, whether that'southward around boondocks or on a trip to a smog-choked metropolis.

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Wynd works by sucking air into the vents on its side, with the air passing through a medical-class air filter. The air then passes through the elevation of the purifier, creating what Wu calls a bubble of clean air effectually you.

All of this happens relatively quietly. I picked upward a Wynd just to run across how portable it was, merely to be startled that information technology was actually running. At its loudest, the purifier generates 45-50 decibels of noise, just at lower settings, the noise registers at 25 to 30 dBs. I certainly couldn't hear the Wynd while Wu and I chatted, though our demo took place in a crowded cafe.

Equally impressive equally the purifier itself is, the Air Quality Tracker sensor seems to do a lot of the heavy lifting. Information technology's what determines air quality and can nudge the Wynd purifier to stepping up the purification level when you use the device'due south auto mode.

Roughly the size of a lighter, the sensor detaches from the Wynd purifier, and a born clip lets you wear information technology. LED lights give yous a quick, visual cue as to how the air is around you. The sensor's lite remained purple the entire time Wu demonstrated the Wynd to me, just when the calorie-free turns red, you lot know that air quality has degraded significantly.

Wynd Technologies plans to sell the Air Quality Tracker sensor separately as an $89 device — it's available for $69 on Kickstarter — though I think its existent value lies in its power to work with the Wynd purifier. The sensor will integrate with a complimentary iOS app that tin log air quality and monitor trends, tap into air monitoring stations around the globe to give yous more details about air quality, and go on track of the air quality for friends and family using the device.

Wu sees this production becoming the "Waze of air quality," sharing data about air conditions in public spaces much as Waze shares traffic data. However, Wynd Technologies is nonetheless working on that feature. The Wynd app is ready to arrive this fall at the same time equally the purifier.

One of the features I appreciated about the Wynd app was its ability to tell you lot just how much air the Wynd purifier had cleaned up, putting that information in context. The app might tell you that you've filtered 38 milligrams of particulates, which it says is the equivalent of three smoked cigarettes.

The app can likewise tell you when it'due south time to change the filter on your purifier, going and so far as to order a new filter for you. A price hasn't been set on replacement filters, only Wu estimates they'll toll between $v to $7.

Wynd obviously seems geared toward international travelers whose comings and goings have them to places where the air quality isn't up to snuff. But Wu also thinks there'southward a market for users who suffer from pollen and pat dander allergies, along with full general users who only want to breathe a cleaner mix of air.

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Philip Michaels is a senior editor at Tom's Guide. He has potent opinions about Apple, the Oakland Athletics and old movies. Follow him at @PhilipMichaels.