Wearable air purifier · In testing in Bengaluru

Clean air for every mile. No mask.

On the road there’s nothing between you and the air. ClearMile filters street air at the back of your neck and surrounds your face with a curtain of clean air — with nothing strapped over your nose and mouth.

The problem

There is no clean-air city in India. And on the road, you can’t shut the window.

Every one of India’s 1.4 billion people lives where fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) is above the World Health Organization’s guideline. At home you can close a window or run a purifier. On a two-wheeler, on foot, on a bicycle — at the signal, behind the bus, past the construction site — you breathe whatever the street gives you, often hard and for an hour or more a day.

100%

of Indians live in areas above the WHO PM2.5 guideline of 5 µg/m³.

8×

India’s own PM2.5 standard (40 µg/m³) is eight times looser than the WHO guideline.

3.5 yrs

of life the average Indian would gain if the air met the WHO guideline.

8.2 yrs

the same gain for people living in Delhi.

Source: Air Quality Life Index 2025, Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC).

What the air costs

Bengaluru’s air costs about two years of life. Delhi’s, more than eight.

Chart: average PM2.5 in 2023 and life expectancy lost compared with the WHO guideline of 5 µg/m³. WHO guideline 5 µg/m³, 0 years. Ladakh 7.8 µg/m³, 0.3 years. Central London 8.3 µg/m³, 0.3 years. Bengaluru 26.2 µg/m³, 2.1 years. India average 41 µg/m³, 3.5 years. Delhi 88.4 µg/m³, 8.2 years. Sources: Air Quality Life Index 2025 update (EPIC, University of Chicago), Greater London Authority.

Why masks haven’t fixed it

The only tool on offer is a mask. Almost nobody keeps one on.

A mask that stays in your pocket filters nothing. We asked why people take them off — and designed around every answer.

It’s hot

A damp layer of fabric over your mouth, in Indian weather, for your whole commute.

It fogs

Every breath goes up into your glasses or helmet visor — a real problem on a two-wheeler.

You can’t talk in it

Down it comes for a phone call or a chai stop, and it rarely goes back up.

It only works if it seals

Beards, helmets and the wrong size leave gaps, and air simply goes around the filter.

The solution

ClearMile: a curtain of clean air, not a mask.

Instead of strapping a filter over your face, ClearMile brings filtered air to it. The device sits at the back of your neck; nothing seals to your skin, so you can talk, smile and drink as normal.

  1. Filter

    A quiet fan at the back of your neck draws street air through a pleated filter before it reaches anything else.

  2. Carry

    Slim ducts along your jawline bring the filtered air round to the front of your face.

  3. Curtain

    An outer curtain of air pushes street air away, while a gentle inner stream gives you filtered air to breathe.

Side view: street particles on the left are pushed away by an outward-angled air curtain; a clean breathing zone sits in front of the face STREET AIR AIR CURTAIN Clean zone filtered air to breathe NECK UNIT
Illustration only — not to scale. Filtered air is pushed outward, so street air is kept away from your face.
Leaks work in your favour. Everything after the filter runs at positive pressure, so if a joint ever leaks, clean air flows out — street air doesn’t get in.

What it is

  • Worn at the back of your neck — nothing on your face
  • Free to talk, smile and drink while you wear it
  • A replaceable pleated filter and a rechargeable battery
  • Designed and built in Bengaluru, for Indian roads and weather

What it isn’t

  • Not a mask — nothing seals to your skin
  • Not a medical device, respirator or PPE
  • Not a replacement for medical advice

Who it’s for

Everyone who spends the day in street air.

Two-wheeler riders

Daily commutes through traffic and signals.

Walkers

The walk to the metro, the bus stop, the office.

Cyclists

Breathing hard, right next to the traffic.

Runners

Early-morning miles when the air is at its heaviest.

We’re testing now. Want to be part of it?

Try a test unit, back the company, or build it with us — tell us a little about yourself.

Get in touch