The respirator in use today which functions with condensed air was devised by Károly Kőszegi Mártony (1783-1848) in 1830. The most important part of the life saving equipment was the iron flask containing pressed air which was attached to the back of its carrier. The pressed air ran through tubes to the goat leather hat while it sounded a very squeaky noise. When the air was enough for one breath the sound was clear. But when the air was not enough the sound was weak and intermittent.

Kőszegi Martonyi was occupied by other inventions as well; he devised the camp cooking machine (Goulash Cannon). He also was an excellent architect; he was one of the first researchers of earth pressure. He started his works on ground mechanics a hundred years before it became an official research field. Still, his theoretical works are permanent.