This Innovative Football Tech May Actually Prevent Concussions #WearableWednesday #Arduino #Football @TexasTech

Helmet Tech

Not long ago I saw the movie Concussion, and although many will argue that some of the facts were a bit confusing, it does seem clear that concussions are not to be taken lightly. There’s a reason why our mothers were always worried about us falling down the stairs. Thanks to our friends at Arduino I learned about the work of Berto Garcia, a student at Texas Tech University. As early as high school he was thinking of ways of helping football players and geared his science project around the issue. Back then he was questioning why woodpeckers and rams don’t get brain injuries; now he is creating wearable tech for players with bragging rights to a patent.

Helmet Pads and Tech

The gear is based on a helmet and shoulder pads that work in unison. It’s like a car suspension system except for the neck.

The helmet-and-shoulder pads system consists of an Arduino connected to four sensors around the front and inside of the helmet, which is programmed to stabilize immediately after impact. When the stabilizers are not activated, players have full movement. But when a wearer suffers a hit above a certain threshold, the board activates the stabilizers, locking the helmet into place and stiffening up to reduce the whiplash motion of the neck.

The sensors are collecting force data and can transmit wirelessly to key people on the sideline. So, not only will players be more protected, but the information gathered will lead to a better understanding of the impact of strikes on players and hopefully allow for better decision making in the sport. Congrats to you, Berto Garcia, and I’m sure your high school mentor mentions you at every science fair! I know I’m loving the use of sensors here and the way the system works in tandem. If any of you are interested in learning more about detecting force, check out our learning guide on Force Sensitive Resistor (FSR). Then think of how you might utilize a small part that can sense pressure.

 

Force Sensor


Flora breadboard is Every Wednesday is Wearable Wednesday here at Adafruit! We’re bringing you the blinkiest, most fashionable, innovative, and useful wearables from around the web and in our own original projects featuring our wearable Arduino-compatible platform, FLORA. Be sure to post up your wearables projects in the forums or send us a link and you might be featured here on Wearable Wednesday!


Adafruit publishes a wide range of writing and video content, including interviews and reporting on the maker market and the wider technology world. Our standards page is intended as a guide to best practices that Adafruit uses, as well as an outline of the ethical standards Adafruit aspires to. While Adafruit is not an independent journalistic institution, Adafruit strives to be a fair, informative, and positive voice within the community – check it out here: adafruit.com/editorialstandards

Join Adafruit on Mastodon

Adafruit is on Mastodon, join in! adafruit.com/mastodon

Stop breadboarding and soldering – start making immediately! Adafruit’s Circuit Playground is jam-packed with LEDs, sensors, buttons, alligator clip pads and more. Build projects with Circuit Playground in a few minutes with the drag-and-drop MakeCode programming site, learn computer science using the CS Discoveries class on code.org, jump into CircuitPython to learn Python and hardware together, TinyGO, or even use the Arduino IDE. Circuit Playground Express is the newest and best Circuit Playground board, with support for CircuitPython, MakeCode, and Arduino. It has a powerful processor, 10 NeoPixels, mini speaker, InfraRed receive and transmit, two buttons, a switch, 14 alligator clip pads, and lots of sensors: capacitive touch, IR proximity, temperature, light, motion and sound. A whole wide world of electronics and coding is waiting for you, and it fits in the palm of your hand.

Have an amazing project to share? The Electronics Show and Tell is every Wednesday at 7pm ET! To join, head over to YouTube and check out the show’s live chat – we’ll post the link there.

Join us every Wednesday night at 8pm ET for Ask an Engineer!

Join over 36,000+ makers on Adafruit’s Discord channels and be part of the community! http://adafru.it/discord

CircuitPython – The easiest way to program microcontrollers – CircuitPython.org


Maker Business — “Packaging” chips in the US

Wearables — Enclosures help fight body humidity in costumes

Electronics — Transformers: More than meets the eye!

Python for Microcontrollers — Python on Microcontrollers Newsletter: Silicon Labs introduces CircuitPython support, and more! #CircuitPython #Python #micropython @ThePSF @Raspberry_Pi

Adafruit IoT Monthly — Guardian Robot, Weather-wise Umbrella Stand, and more!

Microsoft MakeCode — MakeCode Thank You!

EYE on NPI — Maxim’s Himalaya uSLIC Step-Down Power Module #EyeOnNPI @maximintegrated @digikey

New Products – Adafruit Industries – Makers, hackers, artists, designers and engineers! — #NewProds 7/19/23 Feat. Adafruit Matrix Portal S3 CircuitPython Powered Internet Display!

Get the only spam-free daily newsletter about wearables, running a "maker business", electronic tips and more! Subscribe at AdafruitDaily.com !



No Comments

No comments yet.

Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time.