You don’t need to see Concussion to understand the dangers inherent in contact sports. Research increasingly connects sports-related head injuries to chronic brain issues like light sensitivity, depression and anxiety. Yet, despite awareness and huge leaps in material science, today’s helmets are hardly different from the helmets Jim Brown and Johnny Unitas wore 50 years ago.
VICIS, a tech company that spun out of the CoMotion incubation lab at the University of Washington, is working to tackle this challenge with the ZERO1, a 21st century football helmet that is safer, sexier and more functional.
At the core of VICIS’ innovation is the concept of local deformation. Designed to absorb the impact of a collision, the outer layers of the helmet slow acceleration and protect precious cargo, the brain.