During an innovation summit held on the sidelines of the Super Bowl, the NFL has taken a new step in its quest to protect athletes.
The league has officially launched a new edition of HealthTECH Challengean open innovation competition that invites engineers, startups and university researchers to rethink the design of football helmets.
While past efforts have focused on the outer shell and padding, recent statistics are forcing the league to change focus. Indeed, data collected by the NFL shows that 44% of concussions suffered during the last season came from a direct impact on the grill (face mask). This is a worrying increase from 29% in 2015.
Jeff Miller, NFL executive vice president for health and safety, explains that while the improvement of the shells has paid off, it is now imperative to address the absorption capacity of the front grilles. The goal is to transform these rigid components into intelligent systems capable of dissipating shock energy before it reaches the player’s brain.
An investment of $100,000 for the solutions of tomorrow
To stimulate this wave of technological creativity, the league is not skimping on resources. The selected winners will share a total envelope of 100 000 $ US in financing. Beyond the monetary aspect, the winners will benefit from expert support to propel their concepts from the prototype stage to concrete use on NFL fields.
This challenge represents a unique opportunity for technology companies to redefine security standards in professional sports. By relying on “crowdsourcing”, the NFL hopes to discover revolutionary materials or new designs that will limit the risks of long-term head injuries for future generations of footballers.
