Vicis, a startup company in Seattle, has introduced a prototype called "Zero1" - a football helmet that claims to be the answer to the sport's increasing cases of traumatic brain injuries in players. "Zero1" is designed in an inside-out manner, which means unlike the traditional helmets, where they are soft on the inside but hard outside, the Vicis' prototype is the exact opposite.
The design's protective technique is taken after how a car bumper works - deforming upon impact to absorb the force, and then going back to shape after a few seconds. For Vicis' engineers, this design slows the impact before it gets to the head, thus minimizing the possibility of a brain injury, according to Daily Mail.
Vicis also added more layers that will further decrease the impacts as well as minimize the movement of the head upon impact. The straps are also placed in a different manner, with two of the four chin-strap snaps fasten to the inner shell rather than the outer one in order to allegedly curb the energy flowing through the jaw, according to Bloomberg Business.
After acknowledging that the NFL has consistently faced head injury problems, the sports organization has funded researches that focus on traumatic brain injuries and how they can be prevented, as well as how football-related head health can be secured. One of the organizations granted with NFL's funding is Vicis, according to Wired.
Right now, Vicis does not have any public contracts, but the company is confident that it will be able to penetrate the football helmet business and sell its products in time for the next NFL season.
