Chiara Blissett | Antiviral Clouds

'Antiviral Clouds' is a flower-like wearable that detects and extinguishes viral particles to mitigate the spread of the COVID-19.

Microdroplets containing viruses, like COVID-19, spread across poorly ventilated rooms for several minutes after a person sneezes or talks loudly. Employees in an office or city dwellers commuting to work can comfortably wear the device either indoors or on the street to sanitize the air around them when entering densely populated areas. The antiviral cloud interface detects viruses when they are within proximity to the device, causing it to 'pump', change color and release an antiviral spray. The wearable is cast out of hybrid living materials with embedded bacteria that secrete color in response to viral detection. The hybrid living material will then expand and contract; this activates a spray bottle pump, which releases healthy bacteria. The bacteria released from the spray uses Cascade, a CRISPR-associated complex for antiviral defense that can stifle the virus.