Through a new state-of-the-art 3D scanning process, football manufacturing company Riddell is hoping to help curb the reported increase in football-related concussions, especially in youth athletes, and continue to provide a heightened level of player safety.
The Rosemont, Ill.-based company publicly debuted its new Precision-Fit protective helmet equipment this past weekend, a new technology that has already been leveraged by 40-plus college football teams and NFL organizations combined, including Rutgers, Michigan State and Florida in addition to the Buffalo Bills, Pittsburgh Steelers and Miami Dolphins. According to Riddell, a broader rollout is expected during the 2018 season.
With Precision-Fit, Riddell first captures and scans the size and surface of an athlete’s head before sending 3D files to the company’s engineering team for processing. Player-specific liner tools are then generated, essentially using the athlete’s personalized mold to create a custom-fitted helmet that will improve vision and protection.
We have some visitors in our equipment room this morning! New helmetry by @RiddellSports #PrecisionFit pic.twitter.com/0F7WQolsL8
— Cyclone Equipment (@CycloneEQUIP) December 6, 2016
Working with @RiddellSports on the #Precision-Fit helmet. Thanks #TeamRiddell pic.twitter.com/Ni6cN1c0fI
— MSU Football EQ (@SpartanFB_eq) December 7, 2016
Rutgers football equipment manager Stephen Hale, who first heard about the technology about a year ago, recently worked with a Riddell representative and selected a few players to have their heads scanned for a 3D mold. As Hale said, the end goal with Precision-Fit is having a player walk into the Rutgers program on day one with his custom helmet and leave with the exact same model.
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“What you have is a helmet designed for a specific player. Nobody else can wear it. Nobody else can try it on because it won’t fit properly,” Hale said in a video interview. “You eliminate that lag, so to speak, when a player moves his head. You don’t have the helmet playing catch up, which is what they believe to be a large contributing factors to concussions right now. It’s pretty ground-breaking stuff.”