An architect in China created a wearable shield worn like a backpack designed to protect from coronavirus

Mary Meisenzahl

Mar 10, 2020, 17:16 IST

An architect in China created a wearable shield worn like a backpack designed to protect from coronavirus

Penda China

Chinese designer Sun Dayong created a design for a shield that protects wearers from contracting COVID-19, the coronavirus disease.
The shield is called "Be a Batman," and inspired by the wings of a bat.
UV radiation on the shield is designed to kill the virus, while the whole device is "a shell that can wrap us up and distance ourselves from the world."
The coronavirus outbreak that originated in China has killed 3,900 people worldwide and infected more than 111,000, according to recent totals.
Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.

The worldwide death toll of the novel coronavirus disease that originated in Wuhan, China, is now more than 3,300, and the virus has infected more than 97,000 people.

On January 30, the World Health Organization (WHO) officially declared it a global health emergency. The virus has disrupted travel worldwide, leading to flight cancellations, quarantines, and other breakdowns in movement.

Complimentary Tech Event

Transform talent with learning that works

Capability development is critical for businesses who want to push the envelope of innovation.Discover how business leaders are strategizing around building talent capabilities and empowering employee transformation.Know More

Chinese architect Sun Dayong has a possible way to curb the spread of this virus: Be a Batman. He designed a concept for a wearable shield partly inspired by the structure of bat wings. Experts believe that bats may have originally hosted this novel coronavirus before it jumped to humans, as well as past coronaviruses including Ebola and SARS.

Take a look at his design here.

Featured Digital Health Articles:
- Telehealth Industry: Benefits, Services & Examples
- Value-Based Care Model: Pay-for-Performance Healthcare
- Senior Care & Assisted Living Market Trends
- Smart Medical Devices: Wearable Tech in Healthcare
- AI in Healthcare
- Remote Patient Monitoring Industry: Devices & Market Trends

The device is worn like a backpack, with straps around the shoulders and waist.

"The outbreak of coronavirus disease has deprived us of the sense of security we used to have, and put us in sore need of a shell that can wrap us up and distance ourselves from the world," Dayong said.

The CDC says that coronavirus is spread between people in "close contact," and by "respiratory droplets produced when an infected person coughs or sneezes." This design makes it much more difficult for droplets to spread from person to person.

After COVID-19 is no longer an immediate threat, Dayong thinks that maybe the shields could be upgraded with Google Glass technology.

The design is just a concept, but Dayong also hopes to have ultraviolet radiation on the device's surface that can kill the virus on contact.

The bat design element is most evident from behind.

Dayong told Business Insider that he partially based his design off of bat wings, plus the childhood dream of being Batman. "The device is also foldable, ready to open automatically when we need to contact with the outside world," much like a bat's wings, he said.

Dayong is interested in finding a manufacturer for the device, which is made of carbon fiber and PVC. He's offering up the design, and his own consulting.

Next Story Barack Obama praised food waste startup Karma as 'extraordinary'. This is the pitch deck it used to raise $12 million.