VA Tech Helmet Lab Champions Safer Sports Gear

Quick Smiles:

• Virginia Tech’s Helmet Lab leads advancements in sports helmet safety testing.
• Ratings guide families, athletes, and manufacturers in choosing better protective gear.
• Student researchers help ensure helmets offer optimal protection for diverse activities.

In 2011, Virginia Tech’s Steve Rowson and his fellow students launched the Helmet Lab, inspired by a request to test which football helmets offered the best protection.

They uncovered significant differences in safety, sparking a mission to provide transparent guidance on helmet effectiveness for various activities.

The lab now evaluates helmets for sports such as cycling, football, hockey, skiing, and equestrian pursuits, along with protective gear for construction and baseball.

“If you think about what we first started doing, it wasn’t an original thought. You can look back to the 1970s and see the suggestion of someone saying, ‘well, we should stick sensors inside football players’ helmets so we can study head impacts,’” Rowson shared in a recent interview.

Manufacturers strive for the lab’s top rating, while parents and athletes benefit from unbiased, practical data to help reduce injuries.

The lab’s star rating system considers not only the material and structure of helmets but also sport-specific scenarios, accounting for various types of impacts and playing surfaces.

Specialized machines simulate real-world forces and measure energy transfer, ensuring each helmet is thoroughly evaluated for user safety.

“People care when you’re buying a helmet, how much protection it offers,” Rowson explained. “So, when we started publicizing that information, it was like a light bulb to manufacturers: ‘safety sells’ … and we’ve seen that across just about every single area we’ve evaluated helmets in.”

Thanks to the Helmet Lab’s ongoing research, consumers and industry leaders have more tools than ever to make safety-focused choices.

Stay updated with us for more inspiring breakthroughs and uplifting stories that put your wellbeing first!

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