HEALTH

Smithsonian Magazine -   In the summer after their first year studying architecture at the University of Hong Kong, Jeff Li and Joseph Wong were contemplating hats and climate change. “We were basically thinking: ‘Huh, what are the big issues right now in this world?’” says Li. “And obviously it’s heat, right?”

Keeping cool during a Hong Kong summer is hard. Temperatures in the region often exceed 87 degrees Fahrenheit in July and August, and heat has risen year over year, with 2024 on track to be one of its hottest years on record, according to the Hong Kong Free Press.

The pair saw a need for a wearable item that cools construction workers on the job. Amid increasing temperatures, outdoor laborers in hot and humid climates like Hong Kong’s are at risk of severe heat stress, heat stroke and even death. “In the top of a half-finished building, it’s fully exposed,” says Li. “And in the covered areas, there’s no ventilation. It gets really, really hot.”

This was the origin of the Air Ring 48, a cooling device that attaches to the base of a construction helmet, providing crucial airflow to the sweatiest areas of the head and neck. Air Ring 48 was in the top 20 finalists for this year’s James Dyson Award, an international design competition with a cash prize to find the next generation of design engineers. With a fan balanced behind each ear, the device operates at the level of a whisper (30 decibels), and its battery can last for 17 hours, or the equivalent of two workdays.