The National Football League’s quest to become safer has extended to a US Army lab, where rubbery, fluid-filled straps tether a crash test dummy’s football helmet to its body. While they allow turning of the head, the straps tighten automatically under jarring blows to minimize violent head whips.
Designed by Army Research Laboratory scientists at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Aberdeen, MD the “smart” strap system was one of three recent winners of an open competition for funding to develop new approaches to deter players’ brain injuries during a critical period for the NFL.
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