Abstract: A personal protective equipment device is presented that includes a speaker configured to provide a modified sound to a user. The device also includes a microphone configured to capture an ambient sound stream. The device also includes a sound analyzer that receives the ambient sound stream from the microphone and identifies a first sound in the ambient sound. The device also includes a sound processor that applies a model to the first sound, based on the sound identification, to obtain the modified sound, wherein the model changes a characteristic of the identified sound. The modified sound is provided to the speaker. The model comprises an algorithm stored locally in a model database within a memory of the personal protective equipment device.

Abstract: The present disclosure relates to a cushioning article comprising a polymeric foam layer; and at least one longitudinal spacer element arranged along the plane formed by the polymeric foam layer, wherein the longitudinal spacer element is adjacent to, or at least partly embedded into the polymeric foam layer, and wherein the longitudinal spacer element has an aspect ratio AR (ratio x/y), where x is the length of the greatest dimension of the longitudinal spacer element and y is the length of the smallest dimension of the longitudinal spacer element, and wherein the aspect ratio of the longitudinal spacer element is greater than 3.