Air-conditioned helmets to help soldiers beat the heat

Soldiers may soon get a breath of cool air, literally.

The US army is on course to develop a high-tech headgear that is not only light and easy to carry but also has its own built-in air conditioned system.

The helmet provides chemical and biological protection through a powered air-purifying respirator.

New technology brings relief to a soldier through a powered air purifying respirator.

"It consists of a hose connected to the face mask from a blower unit and battery pack hanging off the hip or back," a statement from the US army's Edgewood Chemical Biological Centre (ECBC) stated.

Scientists developed a fan embedded within the mask's filtration system that uses less power, is lighter and is far less bulky than conventional respirators.

The mini-blower works by pulling air through a filtration system on the side of the mask and sweeping it across the nose cup to allow for even flow across the face.

When the user exhales, the air valve closes and diverts all of the clean filtered air into the mask's eye cavity to over-pressurise the face piece, preventing any potential outside contaminates to enter the mask should there be a break in the seal.