Hong Kong’s Healthy Innovators
Meet the health-conscious inventions that are being brought to life, thanks to the power of crowdfunding. By Sherry Chou.
Clean Air on the Go
Purify your air with a device the size of a coffee cup: Air Halo is a filter-less, cordless mobile air purifier that provides hours of protection on the go. While common filters trap larger microbes and particulates but offer no sanitation effect, Air Halo can blast viruses, fungus, bacteria, airborne germs and VOCs.
How can such a little gadget provide so much air purification? Air Halo uses Plascide technology, which was invented by Professor Herman Y. W. Tsui, a research scientist in fusion plasma and an adjunct professor at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Following the 2003 SARs epidemic, Professor Tsui, with funding from the Hong Kong government, invented Plascide and developed Air Halo, which sanitizes cramped urban spaces using intense ionised gas contained within the device.
Air Halo blends in surprisingly well with your everyday environment. It’s designed to fit in a bag or standard cup holder for travel, and with its universal USB charger, you can give it a boost with an AC adaptor, computer or with external batteries. You can even switch between Normal and Boost mode for demanding situations.
Air Halo has successfully raised more than US$56,000 on Indiegogo and the first batch will be delivered in January 2017. Order yours at www.i-saca.com/collections for HK$1,550.
Home Gym of The Future
Fitness equipment has gotten smarter with Move It. This training equipment set – including an ab wheel, resistance band, push-up grips and jump rope – all comes with smart modular handles that ensure you have the right form and range of motion. Once connected, you are able to receive immediate visual feedback, count reps, track calories and even receive training programs via the app. Designed by a local trio made up of a software engineer, tech sales insider, and a biotechnology researcher, you can be sure they’ve got the technical know-how to come up with the goods.
With Move It’s social features, you can keep motivated with a gym buddy without having to leave your home. You can even see who else is using the equipment at the same time and follow their training progress. Got a competitive streak? Grab some friends and compete against other teams using interactive game mechanics. Move It has successfully raised more than US$115,000 on Indiegogo – that’s 366 percent of its fundraising goal. Pre-order yours at
Move It has successfully raised more than US$115,000 on Indiegogo – that’s 366 percent of its fundraising goal. Pre-order yours at move-it.club for US$349.
Sound Asleep
Besides being supremely annoying for whoever you’re sleeping next to, snoring is bad news for your health. Severe snoring can lead to reduced oxygen levels, headaches, interrupted sleep and, in severe cases, sleep apnea. Somnova is the world’s first anti-snoring mat that inflates slowly to gently nudge the sleeper back onto their side. The movement is so gentle that you barely notice it, and is definitely a step up from the old “tennis ball under your back” trick.
What’s more, the mat comes with an app that will give you insights into your snoring patterns, as well as health tips and recommendations on how to prevent snoring. It’s also light and compact, meaning that you can take it with you on the road. You can get one by pledging HK$ 100.00 at kickstarter.com.
Bag One
Originally designed for Ultimate Frisbee players (yes, there’s a big scene here), the Greatest Ultimate Bag offers a 60-litre capacity and a ton of functions and cool compartments you won’t find in other sports bags.
Described as “The Swiss Army Knife of Ultimate bags,” it’s made with waterproof materials and features a rain flap for extra protection. The convertible duffel-slash-backpack has a designated place for just about everything: a ventilated compartment for your smelly socks and wet clothes, a smaller section for your shades, a protective pocket for your smart phone, an insulated cooler compartment for your cold drinks, and a shoe compartment for dirty boots.
The bag was designed by four local Ultimate players who were sick of toting around their gear in messy, cavernous carryalls. The bags have proven so practical that they’ve been taken on camping trips and backpacking holidays too.
Amazingly, Greatest Bag has successfully raised more than US$100,000 on Indiegogo and the first round of production has already commenced. If you want a bag of your own, you can get one by pledging US$99 on indiegogo.com or visit their website at www.greatestbag.com.
