Air Six Launches World's Smallest Wearable Air Quality Monitor D1 Series on JD Crowdfunding

Amid the recent turbulence in the air quality monitoring market, a dark horse has emerged—Air Six. The company has just developed Air Six D1-V, the world’s smallest wearable air quality monitor, which will beLaunched on JD.com Crowdfunding for preheating on August 5, the official crowdfunding campaign will launch at 10:00 a.m. on August 11.

China's environmental issues are a cause for concern. Last year, smog pollution affected an area of up to 2 million square kilometers, impacting 600 million people. The national government plans to invest RMB 1.7 trillion during the 13th Five-Year Plan period to combat air pollution in China.

The human body has no defense against PM2.5. Once these fine particles enter the alveoli, they are rapidly absorbed into the bloodstream and disseminate throughout the body before the liver can detoxify them. Consequently, in recent years, there has been a rising incidence of respiratory diseases and lung cancer. In cities such as Beijing, Jiangxi, and Nanjing, lung cancer has become the leading cause of death.

Do not assume that staying indoors shields you from PM2.5 exposure. The official Weibo account of People’s Daily once published a news article titled “Tsinghua University Report: Indoor PM2.5 Inhalation Is Four Times Higher Than Outdoors.” Moreover, some households have unrecognized formaldehyde contamination, which poses a significant threat to family members’ health.

Xu Zongyan, founder of Feng Xiaoliu, stated, “Environmental Protection Agency monitoring data will never tell you about the air quality in your home, which restaurant has the lowest PM2.5 levels, or whether formaldehyde concentrations in your child’s classroom exceed safety standards. Therefore, we aim to develop a portable, real-time air quality monitor that enables users to plan ahead and avoid polluted areas.”

Small Products, Big Issues in Testing

The Air Six D1-V is only thumb-sized, measuring 80mm in length, 28mm in width, and 22mm in height, with a weight of just 20g, making it highly portable. The device features a built-in clip that allows it to be conveniently attached to clothing, pants, or backpacks, enabling users to monitor air quality wherever they choose.

The Air Six D1-V can detect PM2.5, formaldehyde, VOCs, temperature, and humidity. Xu Zongyan explained, “Do not underestimate the importance of monitoring temperature and humidity; in fact, fluctuations in these parameters significantly affect readings for PM2.5, VOCs, and other metrics. Most consumer-grade air quality monitors rarely include temperature and humidity detection.”

The operation is extremely simple, with no power switch required. Simply connect directly to the “Feng Xiaoliu Air Assistant” app via Bluetooth to immediately monitor the surrounding air quality, featuring a 5-second response time and delivering results in 25 seconds.

The APP displays relevant data and weather information, allowing users to share photos with embedded data to friends with a single click. Data from each test is uploaded to a data map, rapidly visualizing the value of big data; by opening the map, users can gain an at-a-glance view of air quality across the entire city.

Moreover, when the detected values exceed the system-set warning thresholds, the “Feng Xiaoliu Air Assistant” app will send air quality alerts to users. Users can also customize the warning thresholds and alert methods (such as sound, vibration, etc.).

Xu Zongyan revealed that the team began developing the product last year and only completed it this year, striving for excellence at every step. The company has filed approximately 50 patent applications in total, with seven already granted, including more than ten patents related to sensors.

Moreover, the Air Six D1-V features the world’s smallest PM2.5 sensor, which was independently developed by the team rather than sourced externally. It employs the same laser scattering principle used in professional-grade dust monitors from TSI and MetOne (priced at tens of thousands of yuan), achieving a precision of 0.3 μm with a relative error of ≤10%, while offering high accuracy, low power consumption, and low noise. Additionally, the Air Six D1-V incorporates a professional-grade formaldehyde and VOC sensor from Dart (UK), with a precision of 0.01 ppm, ensuring that pollution from renovations and furniture is fully detected.

Detection-Purification-Excellence in All Six Dimensions

On August 5, the Feng Xiaoliu Air Quality Monitor will launch on JD.com’s crowdfunding platform. The Air Six D1-V is priced at RMB 299, while the Air Six D1, which lacks formaldehyde and VOC detection capabilities, is priced at RMB 199. Customers who purchase through JD.com’s crowdfunding campaign can receive a daily cashback of RMB 1 by performing one test per day and sharing the results on their WeChat Moments or Weibo. The maximum cashback amount equals the full purchase price. If unsatisfied, customers may request an unconditional refund within 60 days of receipt.

Xu Zongyan candidly told VCBeat that there were three considerations behind the decision to sell at a low price and adopt a cashback-for-sharing model: first, to penetrate the market, accumulate users, and lay the foundation for subsequent product lines; second, because the company needed these data for product research and development; and third, to raise public awareness of air quality and foster habitual testing.

He continued that the primary user base for the Air Six D1-V includes mothers and infants, athletes, tech enthusiasts, and health-conscious individuals. The company’s future goal is to achieve “excellence in detection, purification, and six key air quality dimensions.” This is also the reason behind the company’s name, “Feng Xiaoliu” (Wind Little Six), with the “six dimensions” referring to temperature, humidity, cleanliness, freshness, quietness, and airflow velocity. An air quality monitor has already been developed, and a series of products, including wearable air purifiers, are currently under development.

Xu Zongyan stated that the smart hardware industry is currently dominated by product integration, where existing technologies are cobbled together to create a product without genuine technological innovation. Such products are easily imitated and hinder the industry’s development. “We have consistently adhered to a technology-centric approach, focusing on truly addressing users’ pain points. This has enabled us to dedicate ourselves wholeheartedly to R&D for an entire year. Only by maximizing user value can a company achieve long-term sustainability.”

As George Merck, the founder of Merck & Co., once said, “We try never to forget that medicine is for the people. It is not for the profits. The profits follow, and if we have remembered that, they have never failed to appear. The better we have remembered it, the larger they have been.”