D3O Granted PEO Soldier Funding For Shock Absorbing Helmet System Testing

The news out of Brighton, UK, that D3O, the British smart material pioneers, was granted capitol by Program Executive Office (PEO) Soldier – the US Army’s acquisition agency, to test evaluate their prototype shock absorbing helmet system solutions that will fundamentally change impact protection, is sports tech related history. It is our Sports Techie community blog privilege to share another exciting sports technology inspired ground-breaking story about D30 with our readers based all over the world. D3O is committed to creating personal protection equipment which will help to reduce the thousands of very common injuries affecting soldiers each year by testing smart materials for use in helmet systems for US forces.

D3O granted funding from PEO Soldier to test Shock Absorbing Helmet System

• PEO Soldier awards funding for test evaluation of prototype Shock Absorbing Helmet System solutions
• D3O helmet shock absorbing technology has been developed to address impact protection against blunt trauma: the principal cause of Traumatic Brain Injuries which affected 31,000 British soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq
• The aim is to equip soldiers with a shock absorption solution providing up to twice the impact protection performance offered by current helmets

D3O shock absorbing helmet system – Brand new high performance helmet system from D3O featuring unique patented technology

D3O shock absorbing helmet system from D3O Lab on Vimeo.

D3O General Manager, Mostyn Thomas, said, “D3O’s team of material scientists and engineers is proud to have been selected by PEO Soldier for funding which will evaluate the impact performance of this new shock absorption protection, in response to intense demand from the global defense sector. No product commercially available combines a good balance of protection, comfort and weight the Shock Absorbing Helmet System aims to offer. D3O has conveyed to this product the R&D expertise it has honed in creating industry-leading protective helmets for the US team sports market, particularly American football and baseball. D3O is committed to creating personal protection equipment which will help to reduce the thousands of very common injuries affecting soldiers each year.”

D3O
D3O launched before the 2006 Winter Olympics where they provided protection-wear solutions to the US and Canadian ski teams. With no compromise on protection, they changed the protection market with a range of light-weight, flexible and breathable protectors. The impact protection solutions company markets a unique patented technology that is used to produce a shock absorbing material. This high performing branded material is used to provide a wide range of integrated products in the motorcycle, sport, electronics, footwear, and PPE markets.

The funding will be used to assess the blunt trauma characteristics of the technology in their prototype Shock Absorbing Helmet System which has been developed to address impact protection against blunt trauma: the principal cause of Traumatic Brain Injuries which affected 31,000 British soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq.

PEO Soldier
The award by PEO Soldier for a 12 month testing program to assess the blunt trauma characteristics of the technology in its prototype D3O TRUST (Trauma Reduction and Unrivalled Shock Technology) Shock Absorbing Helmet System has cross-Industry ramifications, in particular sport.

The 12 month-Foreign Comparative Testing (FCT) Program comes under the auspices of PEO Soldier’s program office for Protection and Individual Equipment (SPIE). The US military currently pays $186 million per year training replacements for non-deployable soldiers affected by TBI/mTBI (Reference: Eric G Blackman, Melina E Hale and Sarah H Lisanby Improving TBI protection measures and standards for combat helmets, 2011).

About PEO Soldier
• The Programme Executive Office (PEO) Soldier is an American governmental organization responsible for rapid prototyping, procurement, and fielding of equipment for its soldiers. It develops, acquires, fields and sustains affordable integrated state-of- the-art equipment to improve soldier dominance in US Army operations today and in the future.
• The mission of Project Manager Soldier Protection and Individual Equipment (PM SPIE) is to develop and provide superior and sustainable integrated clothing and equipment in a rapidly changing global environment as well as provide soldiers with the state-of-the-art protection to defeat and reduce threats associated with ballistics, blast overpressure, fragmentation and heat.
• Specifically, PM SPIE develops and fields advanced soldier protection products, comfortable uniforms that enhance mission effectiveness, and improved parachute systems. These products are designed to protect soldiers and allow them to operate in any conditions.
• For further information: http://www.peosoldier.army.mil/programs/pmspie/

About the Technology Strategy Board
The Technology Strategy Board is the UK’s innovation agency. Its goal is to accelerate economic growth by stimulating and supporting business-led innovation. Sponsored by the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), the Technology Strategy Board brings together business, research and the public sector, supporting and accelerating the development of innovative products and services to meet market needs, tackle major societal challenges and help build the future economy. For more information please visit www.innovateuk.org.

About D3O
• D3O is a British based impact protection solutions company that markets a unique patented technology, used to produce a shock absorbing material.
• The company’s success was born out of the 2006 Winter Olympics, where they provided protective solutions to the US and Canadian ski teams.
• D3O impact protection solutions have been integrated into thousands of products worldwide and are used in six core markets including defence and law enforcement protection; sports; electronics; industrial workwear; motorcycle and footwear.
• D3O received the Queen’s Award for Enterprise for International Trade in April 2014, the UK’s highest accolade for business, after demonstrating six years’ continuous export growth with sales increasing from 62% in 2007 to 88% in 2013.

www.D3O.com | www.facebook.com/d3olab | www.twitter.com/d3olab | www.vimeo.com/d3olab

Sports Techie, D30 continues to challenge and lead the world of impact protection and shock absorption with innovative, pioneering solutions for their proactive customers. The TBI and concussion issues facing sports and the military is being met head-on with funding, brain power and proven smart materials thanks to sports tech companies such as D3O. Converting military products to civilian use is a by-product the PEO Soldier program will provide helping to further protect football, baseball and softball players, as well as motorsport and other helmet-centric recreational activities, from blunt trauma.

War is certainly not the answer, but safe sport influenced by sports technology is changing the world and making it a better place for all.

See y’all later here in Atlanta.

I will see ya when I see ya, THE Sports Techie @THESportsTechie – http://twitter.com/THESportsTechie

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