Flo Mask Gives Kids The Perfect Fit with 3D Scanning

In order to make personalized products, scanning is probably one of the most efficient and reliable methods. Especially since today 3D scanners are more precise than ever. Whether it is to create adapted anatomical models, glasses, or personalized shoes, 3D technologies have proven time and time again the extent of their possibilities. Kevin Ngo, a father living in Silicon Valley, has, thanks to Artec’s digitalization solutions, developed the Flo Mask project. An application aimed at protecting children from 4 to 12 years old from viruses and air pollution.

It was in 2018, following a summer marked by the most deadly and destructive forest fires on record in California, that Kevin Ngo launched his project. After testing dozens of solutions, ultimately deemed too slow or insufficiently precise, the father turned to digitalization. To do this, he called on the services of the Luxembourg company Artec, which has specialized in the development of 3D scanners and 3D software for several years now. To combine precision, speed and resolution, Kevin and the company opted for the Artec Eva portable 3D scanner, based on the white structured light process, which presents no danger to humans.

Child getting a face scan. (Photo Credit: Artec)

The Development of the Flo Mask

In order to collect a 3D dataset reflecting the diversity of noses, Kevin Ngo toured the San Francisco Bay Area to scan the faces of children of different ethnicities – Asians, Hispanics, African Americans and Caucasians. Thanks to the features and properties of the Eva 3D scanner, it only took 20 seconds to perform each facial scan, followed by a 30-second post-scan cleaning. Once the scans were completed, they embarked on the production of prototypes.