PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The soft landing helmet patent grant recognizes the importance of maximizing the management of rotational forces in helmets to curtail injury. No athletic protective gear does that. It will create a technology inflection point such that eventually all protective gear will incorporate rotational force management. Leading researchers acknowledge this concept of sequential rotational and linear impact force dampening (to produce a soft landing) is unique.
"It merits simulation, design studies and testing to optimize and validate performance," said David Camarillo at Stanford University, where Camarillo researches football impacts and brain responses to those impacts. (camlab.stanford.edu)
The inventor is Joseph Russo, an entrepreneur and materials scientist, who developed the idea at his Silicon Valley R&D firm, Rousseau Research, Inc., Palo Alto, CA. (RRI)
RRI used 3D Mfg. to build an array of soft, flexible, rotational impact absorbing chambers that instantly communicate with a soft, larger linear impact absorbing chamber to validate the concept. Qualitative tests show improvement over present football helmet foams and near rock hard bike helmet foam.
"I envision the repudiation of the injurious, hard landing, concussive crashing helmets from football and biking with the development of a truly soft landing, flexible helmet. No more helmet being the cause of inducing injury upon impact," said Russo.
The idea may also improve upon military helmets.
RRI is reaching out to the NFL, the Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute and helmet companies who may be interested in validation, development and commercialization. Contact through rousseauresearch.com