Ford in the US is planning to make respirator units for front-line medical staff in the Covid-19 crisis using off-the-shelf blowers for seat ventilation, writes Brian Byrne.
The company is partnering with the giant 3M group to make the systems, essential for protecting medical staff in highly infectious environments as when treating infected patients.
The blowers will push air through 3M-made purifying filters and into a face mask, which is also being developed by Ford's Advanced Manufacturing Center in Redford, Michigan.
The seat ventilation blowers are lightweight and can be powered by rechargeable batteries that will run for up to 10 hours on a charge.