Pollution Evolution: The Latest in Mask Technology

We've been talking about the air quality in Beijing a lot lately (if you don't know why, just take a look outside), but it's always a bit of a sigh of relief when we can talk about ways to combat it instead of how it just seems to be suffocating us.

These guys in Shanghai have developed a new mask that helps you monitor the air quality in your community in real time, thanks to sensors on the mask that send particle readings to an app on your smartphone. Smithsonian.com reported that the design company, Frog, "hopes that by 'leveraging the community' they can create a more reliable and a more trustworthy source of pollution data." The mask isn't ready for consumers yet, but how many of you will be getting your hands (or face) on one of these when they're available in Beijing?

Meanwhile, a Shenzhen-based company is using air filtration technology that might have us all living like Truman Burbank in The Truman Show one day. Read more here.