A UW senior medical engineer explains how the smart helmet can aid in player safety by using sensor technology.
Credit: Andy Manis/Journal Sentinel
Students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison are not just interested in improving technology and creating innovative design, but rather they are determined to make us rethink the way the physical and digital world interact.
These students have spent months in the University’s Internet of Things Lab, where they work to measure, monitor and control the physical world by heightening its interaction with the Internet.
The main innovation that the lab has developed is a football helmet that can detect injuries.
Cross-disciplinary teams of students have come together to develop a high-tech football helmet that has brain wave probes and a device that measures acceleration forces, which gives the ability to detect concussions on the field and directly communicate the information to medical staff.
This from the Milwaukee Wisconsin Journal Sentinel:
The sensors tucked in the helmet padding record four frequency bands of brain waves: delta (to detect any loss of consciousness), beta (to detect abnormalities in cognitive thought, such as slower responses), alpha (mood/stress) and theta (light sleep, or the border between conscious and subconscious).
The helmet will be able to better measure the impact of forces of a collision allowing for quick assessment of possible concussions.
Want more information on innovation in sensor technology? Get the latest research here!
And don’t forget to register for our the ECS 227th Meeting in Chicago, where you can take part in our amazing sensor symposia!
