Fox News Autos test drive: 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E
The 2021 Ford Mustang Mach-E is the automaker's first purpose-built electric car and a very different kind of pony. Fox News Autos Editor Gary Gastelu reports.
Ford has developed two new innovations in the fight against COVID-19.
(Ford)
The automaker, which has contributed resources toward the manufacture of surgical masks, face shields, powered air-purifying respirators and ventilators since the beginning of the global outbreak, has now unveiled a clear N95 respirator-type mask that can aid the hearing-impaired and a low-cost room filtration system.
Ford has been granted patent-pending approval for the reusable mask, which facilitates lip reading and facial expression recognition better than conventional, opaque versions.
(Ford)
"This clear respirator promises to improve interactions between neighbors, at the store and for those who have hearing impairments," Jim Baumbick, head of Ford’s Project Apollo PPE effort said.
FOX NEWS AUTOS TEST: 2021 FORD BRONCO SPORT
Final testing on the masks is scheduled to run through the winter before production begins in the spring.
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(Ford)
Baumbick’s team has also designed a simple air filtration system that uses a common box fan placed horizontally on a cardboard stand with a filter laid across it that draws air down through it and is capable of changing the air in a 960 square-foot room approximately 4.5 times per hour to reduce the amount of virus-carrying aerosols present.
Ford plans to donate 20,000 of the kits and is making the open source design freely available.