One local business drawing attention for 'Shield Pod' invention
CINCINNATI (WKRC) - A local business is drawing worldwide attention for its invention that aims to protect people in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic.
Under the Weather introduced the “Shield Pod” last month and since then, it has been shared tens of thousands of times online.
CEO Rick Pescovitz says there are a lot of laughs about the invention but the pod is also getting a lot of sales. Pescovitz says around 2,000 people have preordered a “Shield Pod.”
It’s among the quirky creations to come out in the new world of social distancing.
The protective pod straps to your waist and allows you to be mobile.
“It creates a barrier so by no means are we saying this is preventing the spread of COVID and we’re not telling you not to wear a mask in lieu of wearing this but we worked with physicians and medical scientists as we’ve created it and because of the materials and the treatments of our materials it is a successful barrier but it also allows people to be able to be mobile and walk around,” Pescovitz said.
In May, the company showed us a new pod designed to protect healthcare workers while intubating patients.
The company was working to create another pod for healthcare workers, originally to be the “Medic Pod” when Pescovitz says they starting to receive inquiries from several other industries: retail, teachers, office workers, 911 call centers and those taking flights.
Under the Weather is known for its pop-up weather pods, typically spotted on the sidelines of soccer games and at events.
Pescovitz, who appeared on Shark Tank with the original invention, says he expects people to laugh at the look of the pod but says people are already on board.
“Whenever I came up with the original pod, which is just a pop-up tent that you sit in at the side of a soccer game ten years ago people laughed their behinds off at me when I showed up and they told me It wouldn’t work and that no one would was ever going to want that. Then all the sudden they sit in it and they like it and it’s (the Shield Pod) got much the same,” Pescovitz said. “It was a laughing matter for a lot of people but so far a couple thousand people have reached out. We’ve sold it to school systems in bulk orders that haven’t even arrived yet so that’s not even part of the 2,000.”
The company is also creating a “mini version” for kids. Pescovitz says they are working on a program to donate some of the pods to students.
The Shield Pod costs $80.
