SBIR Phase I: Truncated Icosahedrons Protect Pitchers from Line-Drive Baseball Strikes to the Head

This Small Business Innovation Research Phase I project focuses on finding a practical and cost-effective protective cap for baseball pitchers susceptible to serious head injuries from impacts of batted baseballs. The new cap design satisfactorily addresses the shortcomings of previous commercialization efforts that were unable to meet the prescribed protective requirements; failed to pass both the players' fashion expectations and comfort evaluation; and carried a hefty purchase price. The acceptance and use of the new cap by professional baseball players will create widespread demand from collegiate, high school and Little League players, a market that is estimated to generate annual revenues of more than $18M. These market projections exclude consideration of the technology's Broader Impact potential in other sports or vocational and military applications, where there is a growing recognition of the need for improved head protection for athletes, soldiers, law enforcement officials and construction workers. Sports injuries are now highly scrutinized, especially those causing long-term medical issues from brain injury, blunt force trauma and repetitive concussive injury. The societal value of this innovation will be found in safer sports and work environments. Such equipment represents a rapidly growing segment of the apparel market and a unique commercial opportunity for the company. The intellectual merit of this project is based on the company's patented design that provides head protection from the impact of a baseball. The novelty of the protective cap headliner is its flexible outer hard shell made with highly rigid interconnecting truncated icosahedron panels. This allows the headliner to conform to the shape of the head while maintaining the stiffness needed to diffuse impact loads. Since the impact of a baseball represents a short duration point load, the energy-absorbing capacity of the layer beneath the outer shell can be minimized. The objective is to identify the material characteristics required to dissipate the impact load associated with a Severity Index of 1200 or greater when a head-form is struck by a baseball traveling at speeds up to 125 mph; and to identify the material combination(s) best suited to achieve this goal. Traditional foam materials as well as state-of-the-art material compositions will be used in unique configurations to produce solutions that are not too heavy, not too bulky nor too hot to wear. The outcomes of this study will determine the availability of materials that can be used within the ergonomic and mechanical constraints of the patented design to protect the head. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.