Corsair Innovations receives funding from NFL/UnderArmour/GE/NIST to advance new helmet foam-replacement materials
Corsair Innovations, a company that propels technology breakthroughs from idea to reality, is one of the recipients of $250,000 from Phase Three of the Head Health Challenge. The funding will go toward the company’s new Flocked Energy Absorbing Material (FEAM) technology, a radical new and improved approach to foam padding used in helmets and body armor developed by UMass Dartmouth Bioengineering professors Yong Kim and Armand Lewis. Mechanical Engineering Professor Vijaya B. Chalivendra is also a contributor on the project.
FEAM can absorb energy from blunt forces and reduce the risk of trauma by mitigating impact energies. FEAM is a 100 percent textile replacement for foams. This newly developed material is made using a mature manufacturing process called flocking but in a novel and innovative way. The resulting material offers higher performance, is breathable and washable, and can be used in a wide variety of applications, ranging from padding in military and police gear to athletic uniforms.
The Head Health Challenge, is a program developed by the NFL, Under Armour, GE and the National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST). The three-phased initiative was created to better understand and diagnose mild traumatic brain injury, improve protection from brain injury, and advance materials to mitigate impact in sport.
“We are honored that the experts on the judging committee selected our material and see the promise of FEAM,” said William Lyndon, President, Corsair Innovations. “Traumatic brain injury is a serious and growing problem for athletes and soldiers, affecting approximately 2.6 million people in the U.S. every year. The unique properties and flexibility of FEAM will allow us to develop solutions for both linear and the more damaging rotational forces associated with these injuries.”
This award will enable the researchers at Corsair Innovations and UMass Dartmouth to further test and improve the FEAM material with the ultimate goal of producing a better impact absorption system for helmets and other protective gear.
Corsair Innovations was born from innovation created by researchers at UMass Dartmouth, working on cutting-edge materials technologies, mainly in the arenas of advanced textiles and composites engineering. Learn more at http://corsairinnovations.com/.
UMass Dartmouth, the only Bay State research university south of Boston, distinguishes itself as a vibrant public university actively engaged in personalized teaching and innovative discovery. UMass Dartmouth’s 9,000 students contribute more than 250,000 hours of community service every year and its faculty annually conduct $27 million in research related to the environment, business, health care, life science, public policy, transportation, and other fields that are critical to regional economic, social, and cultural development.