On March 29, the 国产外流网and Football Research, Inc. announced three winners of HeadHealthTECH Challenge III. These companies were recognized for innovative helmet technologies and materials designed to absorb and reduce impact:
- 鈥擠enver, Colorado鈥攊n partnership with the University of Colorado Denver, received a grant of $121,949 to support development and testing of its ultra-dissipative padding made from liquid-crystal elastomers (LCEs).
- 鈥擬alibu, California鈥攔eceived a grant of $186,043 to support development and testing of its novel impact-attenuating pads for football helmets.
- 鈥擝altimore, Maryland鈥攔eceived a grant of up to $20,000 for the testing of its anti-rotational kinematic (ARK) helmet prototype, which is designed to significantly reduce the rotational forces that a football player experiences during contact.
The TECH Challenge series is one component of the Play Smart. Play Safe. Engineering Roadmap, a $60-million comprehensive effort鈥攆unded by the 国产外流网and managed by FRI鈥攖o improve the understanding of the biomechanics of head injuries in professional football and to create incentives for manufacturers, small businesses, entrepreneurs, universities and others to develop and commercialize new and improved protective equipment, including helmets. Launched in November 2016, the TECH Challenge series is operated and managed on behalf of FRI by Duke University鈥檚 Clinical and Translational Science Institute (Duke CTSI).
鈥淭hrough grant awards to the winners, and the mentorship and feedback from Duke CTSI to each company that submits, the TECH Challenge series continues to serve as an innovative engine in the advancement of sports protective equipment,鈥� said Jeff Miller, 国产外流网Executive Vice President of Health and Safety Initiatives.
Soft, Comfortable Energy Absorption
Chris Yakacki, President, CEO and CTO of Impressio, described the company鈥檚 innovative helmet padding as a 鈥済reat non-bouncing rubber.鈥�
He also called it the 鈥渁nti-Flubber,鈥� a reference to the bouncy star of two Disney movies about a gooey material that gave near-infinite bounce to people and cars. Yakacki and his colleagues have developed a material that鈥攂ecause it has such minimal bounce鈥攊s designed to absorb energy.
Liquid crystal elastomers are key to the concept. They鈥檝e been integrated into the molecular level of Impressio鈥檚 material to not just absorb energy, but also provide a soft, comfortable material for athletes inside something like a helmet.
鈥淭his technology is also a lot less dependent on temperature,鈥� Yakacki said. 鈥淗elmets in the cold are usually hard as a rock. Our material works well at any temperature.鈥�
A TECH Challenge grant will help his team test their material inside helmets. 鈥淓ngineers love challenges,鈥� Yakacki said. 鈥淭his is an opportunity to both solve a challenge and help people.鈥�
The TECH Challenge win builds on Impressio鈥檚 success at this year鈥檚 国产外流网1st and Future start-up competition. After Yakacki and Impressio co-founder Carl Frick pitched their technology in front of a live audience, a panel of judges selected Impressio as winner of the 鈥淎dvancements in Protective Equipment鈥� category.
Popular Lattice Technology Applied in a New Way
Eric Clough is a Senior Development Engineer with HRL Laboratories, LLC. He and his colleagues have applied a popular technology in a new way.
鈥淲e鈥檙e using a special lattice structure inside our material technology to absorb energy,鈥� he said, 鈥渂orrowing on concepts applied in industrial engineering for years鈥攊n bridges, buildings, the Eiffel Tower.鈥�
鈥淚t hasn鈥檛 been until recently, with improvements in manufacturing techniques that we鈥檝e been able to miniaturize these types of structures,鈥� Clough said, 鈥渁nd realize the same benefits.鈥�
A lattice structure could be ground-breaking inside helmets because it is designed to behave differently across a variety of impact scenarios. 鈥淟attices give us more figurative levers to adjust based on where the material is placed inside each helmet,鈥� Clough said.
Clough has been working with lattices for most of his professional life. 鈥淭his technology that鈥檚 been in a lab for a decade is finally getting out into the wild,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here鈥檚 nothing more exciting than that.鈥�
He said he鈥檚 grateful for the counsel provided by biomechanical engineers at Duke CTSI鈥攁s well as business and entrepreneurship expertise鈥攖hroughout the TECH Challenge submission process to help move innovations like his toward the market.
鈥淪ure, this is technology that is fascinating and fun,鈥� he said, 鈥渂ut we鈥檙e also, hopefully, moving it towards production.鈥�
Addressing a Variety of Impact Scenarios
Bert Straus, Principal at AES Research & Design, had already invented an outer cover for helmets, a resilient material designed to reduce forces between helmets during hits.
For HeadHealthTECH Challenge III, he wanted to move that technology forward.
鈥淲e鈥檙e integrating this technology inside the helmet now to absorb energy,鈥� Straus said. The technology, called Anti-Rotational Kinematics, is designed to respond to a variety of impact scenarios鈥攏ot just direct blows.
鈥淭echnology can play a role in making a difference,鈥� said Straus. 鈥淚鈥檓 the father of an athlete, my grandson is an athlete, I had lots of friends who played football. I feel a responsibility to use my work to advance the human condition.鈥�
Engineers want future helmets designed for health and safety to be nimble in their benefits to athletes, no matter the impact material鈥攆rom turf, grass, and other helmets鈥攁t a variety of angles with a variety of levels of intensity.
Straus said he鈥檚 been able to design for so many of these scenarios because of the width and breadth of injury data and research collected by the 国产外流网and others over the years.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been so well categorized that we鈥檝e managed to optimize our technology to a pretty realistic virtual world,鈥� Straus said.
The HeadHealthTECH Challenge III grant will help Straus and his team transition their work from outfitting a virtual helmet to outfitting a prototype helmet鈥攁nd running it through a battery of lab tests.
HeadHealthTECH Challenge V鈥擲ubmit Your Proposal
Entries for HeadHealthTECH Challenge V are being accepted through June 6.
Participants can submit proposals on helmet technologies and surfaces that helmets contact, including turf, grass, other helmets and opponent padding. Click here for more information.
To date, the TECH Challenges have rewarded more than $960,000 in grants to help advance the development of eight new technologies.
Winners of TECH Challenge I include for its highly efficient energy-absorbing Zorbz technology and for its Guardian Cap technology鈥攁 soft helmet cover designed to reduce the severity of impacts. TECH Challenge II winners included 2ND Skull, to research the effectiveness of its skull cap in reducing impact forces and developing a second-generation version; , for its prototype HitGard庐 multi-component helmet system concept; and , for its Crash Cloud鈩�, an impact liner system using restricted air flow and foam in helmets and protective gear.