VICIS and artefact's football helmet revolutionizes 50 years of stagnant designs

building upon a stagnant designs that has developed for over 50 years, seattle-based tech startup VICIS and design studio artefact have worked together to design a football helmet poised to improve player safety while increasing comfort and performance. at the core of VICIS’ and artefact’s innovation is the concept of local deformation, using the outer layers of the helmet to slow acceleration and protect the brain by absorbing the impact of a collision.

images courtesy of VICIS/artefact

borrowing from the automotive industry VICIS and artefact leveraged scientific principles to address the issue of concussions, specifically designed to reduce the risk of head injury for football players. the impact absorbing layer consists of columnar layers that like a car bumper, the are designed to absorb impact by locally deforming, moving omni-directionally to react to impact coming from any direction.

by designing a chin strap that attaches from the deformable outside shell and the hard-plastic shell, allowed for a design that could improve player safety and visibility while offering a better fit. this is further ensured on the inside where a low-profile internal cushion further can be customized according to the player. it can also be removed for easy cleaning and parts replacement.

‘this is a multi-layered, highly enginerred solution and it will make a difference‘, a video outlining the technology states. ‘we don’t have the typical helmet with a hard shell and some padding on the inside.‘ 

‘we considered both the functional and human factors, as well as the emotional needs of the players, to deliver a design that reflected the ultimate equation of our research findings, achieving performance through a balanced mix of safety, style and comfort‘, it further explains on artefact’s website.

since its inception the ZERO1 helmet has done well to make waves in the industry. it has made the time’s list of 25 best inventions of 2017 and earned the top spot in the NFL’s and NFL player association 2017 and 2018 helmet laboratory performance testing. according to forbes over 60 NFL players donned the helmet last season and over 20 college football teams have signed on to use the helmet including alabama, georgia, florida state, and texas A&M. the ZERO1 football helmet was previously priced at $1,500, according to barry wilner, but in january of this year, VICIS announced a price reduction to $950.