Riddell Debuts Precision-Fit Helmet-Fitting 3D Scanning Process For Personalized Protection
(Courtesy of Riddell)
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.
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.
“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.”
