German inventors behind a portable air purifier using "cold plasma" technology that promises to clear your home of pollution and bacteria are seeking funding from a campaign on Kickstarter.
Their Squair device utilized cold plasma, also termed non-thermal plasma or NTP technology, which splits oxygen molecules into a positively charged particle and a negatively charged particle that can attract and attach to allergens, dust or other harmful particles to either eliminate them or alter them so they're no longer dangerous to breathe, the inventors say.
There are already air cleaners on the market that produce ions with a negative charge to remove pollutants from the air, but because the Squair produced both negative and positive ions, it is twice as effective at clearing the air, they say.
That allows the device to clear an interior space covering around 320 square feet, said company boss Florian Windeler.
"Our goal was to get a portable device that is good enough for most bedrooms, offices, hotel rooms and of course cars," he said.
In tests, the device cleared two-thirds of the dust particles in a room when it was run for 18 hours, the company said.
In addition to dust and pollution, the Squair unit can remove fungus and mold from the air, the inventors said.
"NTP technology in Squair products has been proven to be extremely effective in fighting germs, viruses, bacteria, fungi and mold," they said. "Thorough testing has given us a lot of confidence that a new way to fight germs and bacteria like salmonella, SARS and bird flu is born. Even staph bacteria, regarded as the most antibiotic-resistant bacteria known, have been eliminated by NTP."
The unit requires no maintenance, Windeler says, no filters to wash or clean.
Early adopters can reserve a Squair for $155, although the company says the price will increase in steps during the Kickstarter campaign to around $297.
The company says it hopes to raise $98,500 in the campaign by Dec. 9 and plans to start shipping Squair purifiers to customers in April 2015.
The units will ship with two power adapters that will allow it to be used either in a home or office setting or inside a car.
Squair's Cold Plasma technology is also being incorporated into an experimental wearable suit than can clean the air around its wearer.
Still in a prototype stage, the BB.Suit 0.2 is not likely to hit the market anytime soon, since its designers admit it would be very difficult to wash or clean.
