Kerala start-up comes up with anti-virus mask ahead of schools reopening

Kochi: VST IoT Solutions, under the state-run Kerala Start-up Mission (KSUM), has launched a special mask that can kill viruses in five seconds on contact with the surface, earning topicality when schools are to reopen after one-and-a-half years of pandemic-induced break.

The innovative product, which has been proven effective by using a unique nano-coating technology tested at BTS Lab Mumbai, will be of extra help for primary-level students who are prone to be careless in their social conduct expected in times of Covid-19, a statement said here.

The year-old start-up has also come up with an IoT-based vending machine with QR-code payment system, where the user can dispense the mask without touching it at all, it said.

Such a facility can also be useful in public places like hotels, public parks, schools, colleges, airports, cinema halls, malls and industrial places, according to VST IoT Solutions.

The city-based company has further developed a surface disinfectant that remains active for24 hours, the statement added.

KSUM is the state's 2006-founded nodal agency for entrepreneurship development and incubation activities.