Chinese developers have presented an innovative face mask that can dynamically change a person’s appearance. The device can reproduce eight different types of faces and can potentially be used to bypass facial recognition systems, MIR24 reports.

The multilayer silicone mask completely covers the face and changes appearance in real time. The top layer, equipped with heating elements and thermochromic microcapsules, is responsible for changing skin color from light to dark.

The inner layers of the mask contain sealed chambers into which gas is supplied, formed by heating an ammonia solution. Thanks to this mechanism, the contours and relief of the face change – you can make it wider, change the shape of the nose or accentuate the cheekbones.

The mask has eight built-in appearance templates obtained using 3D scanning of real people. Switching between types takes less than two minutes, although changing skin color takes longer.

The tests confirmed the effectiveness of the mask in significantly reducing the external resemblance to the original. The results of the study were published in the scientific journal Science Advances.

Engineers plan to replace the toxic ammonia solution with a safer alternative and modify the mask so that it can convey human facial expressions.