The Smithsonian Institution’s Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation has released a video examining the history and technology of the football helmet. IMPACT: The Evolution of Football Helmets is part of the center’s multi-year Invention, Sport and Technology initiative, and is one of many educational efforts that it intends to produce for the public as it builds towards the opening of an invention, sport and technology exhibit at the National Museum of American History in 2022.
SportTechie collaborated with the Lemelson Center to produce IMPACT, which features interviews with representatives from the NFL and the Pro Football Hall of Fame, professors and engineers from helmet research labs at Virginia Tech and the University of Virginia, as well as helmet manufacturers Vicis and Riddell, and former NFL players Shawn Springs, now co-founder and CEO at Windpact, and Eric Winston, current NFLPA President.
SportTechie recently released a four-part series on football helmet tech and the NFL’s $60 million investment in the Engineering Roadmap to develop research and technology to make football safer. Part one of that series discusses the data behind the controversial helmet rule. Part two outlines the engineering work supporting the roadmap. Part three discusses the crowdsourcing of innovative solutions. Part four looks at the future of the program and a new data collection device.