Nausicaa - The Respirator of the Future

Designed in Blender By Hayden Logan

The Nausicaa is intended to be a multi-use respiratory helmet that can be used in a variety of situations both large and small scale. Any circumstance that requires air to be filtered for safety such as in a pandemic, when spray painting, using toxic chemicals, or various construction tasks where particulate or toxic matter is in the air will work well. It aims to solve many of the current issues with respiratory masks today. The filters are easily replaceable, and the air is drawn from behind the head with fans to help keep the filters cleaner and for a longer amount of time. The dual filter system allows clean air for breathing and filtered air pumped around the wearer’s head for comfort as well. There is a simple power button, buttons to increase the pull of the fans, and a charging port to recharge the battery. The lenses on the helmet are scratch-resistant, protect from the sun’s UV rays, and have dual lenses which prevent them from fogging. The mouth slits will only open when the user exhales to ensure a tight seal for breathing. The helmet exterior form follows a basic medieval helmet-like shape with influences from Star Wars for the facepiece, medieval knight helmets for the overall style, and Ancient Spartan helmets for the eye shape. It will be mainly constructed from aluminum and ABS plastic making it very rigid and fairly sturdy while also keeping it from being too costly to produce. The Nausicaa aims to become the new, high-quality standard for respirators in the construction and industrial design field.

^ Refined Sketches and Prototype to scale

The Nausicaa exterior form was influenced by medieval knight helmets for the overall style and form. The face section was majorly influenced by Star Wars helmets specifically styles from The Mandalorian. Ancient Spartan helmets helped to influence the eye/visor shape.

Aesthetics -

The Nausicaa will serve as a step up from today’s typical respiratory device. The helmet will be made from mainly aluminum and ABS plastic which will give the helmet a sturdy, durable look. Aluminum will make up the main shell of the helmet - the main body of both the helmet piece and the faceplate. It is lightweight but still decently strong and will help protect the wearer. It will give the helmet a shiny and obviously metallic finish. ABS plastic will be the secondary material and will help connect and accent various parts. It is rigid, easy to mold, and typically gives off a matte finish. The helmet will also feature some LED lighting to accent the filters, nozzles, indicators, and power button. The LED lighting will give the helmet a more futuristic, polished look while also serving an informative purpose when used for the filter quality indicator lights and on the power button. The helmet would be painted with matte paints applied through hydro-dipping giving it a clean, durable finish. The helmet will also be coated in both clearcoat and a hydrophobic spray to help protect the paint and body/internals of the helmet from damage. As a sellable product, it would have a wide variety of color options to fit the many styles a person would theoretically want. There would be 20 color choices, and each buyer will be able to choose any color they would like for the primary color, secondary color, LED accent color, interior trim color, lens colors, switch color, etc. My prototype features the standard polished metal finish for the main body of the helmet, matte white paint as the secondary color (for the tubing/top stripe), and an orange LED accent color for all the glowing aspects of the respirator.

Materials -

The main shell of the helmet will be made from aluminum and ABS plastic. These materials will make the helmet durable, easier to produce, and comfortable to wear. Aluminum will make up most of the respirator (such as the main shell of both the helmet piece and the mask section). Aluminum is lightweight but still decently strong and will help protect the wearer. ABS plastic will be the secondary material that will make up the body of the helmet. It is also lightweight and rigid, but it is easier to mold and make small intricate pieces out of. On top of that, It is fairly strong so it will be able to handle heavy use and harsh environments. The LED accents on the helmet are mainly used to help achieve the innovative, futuristic look of the helmet. However, they are used on the power button to display when the helmet is off, charging, battery level, charged, or simply powered on. The LEDs are also used for the filter indicator lights and help to notify a user when the filters have been clogged and need to be changed. The LED lights on the filters themselves also serve that purpose as well. The eye lenses of the helmet will serve as eye protection for the mask. They will protect the person’s eyes from UV damage and sunlight, and will also be unable to fog up due to their dual-lens design. They will also protect the wearer from any debris or particles that fly at the lenses as they are scratch-resistant and strong enough to withstand a sizable amount of directed force. The back air filters will be made up of a fan section to draw the air in and a filter section to purify the air for breathing. The fans will serve as the air intake for the mask and will help propel air through the two filters and into the head area and the mouth section. They will be rigid and move quickly when in operation but will be protected behind a grate made of ABS plastic. The tubing along the side of the helmet will help transport the air from the respiratory systems to the mouth section and will be integrated (partially hidden from the outside of the helmet).

Side and Back Views