An ‘inside-out,’ helmet could be the answer to football’s concussion epidemic.

Zero1, a prototype by Seattle startup, Vicis, channels the protective techniques of a car bumper by deforming slightly upon impact, and then regaining its shape.

Unlike standard helmets, the design is soft on the outside and hard on the inside to slow impact before it gets to the head.

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An ‘inside-out,’ helmet could be the answer to football’s concussion epidemic. Zero1, a prototype by Seattle startup, Vicis, channels the protective techniques of a car bumper by deforming slightly upon impact, and then regaining its shape

THE 'INSIDE-OUT' HELMET Zero1 has a soft outer layer, called the 'Lode Shell,' which slows impact by deforming. Beneath it, the 'Core Layer,' is made up of small vertical struts to allow the shell to bend and buckle. The hard shell normally found on the outside of the helmet, called the ‘Arch,’ sits sandwiched between the Core Layer and the Form Liner. The Arch Shell protects the skull, padded by memory foam liner. Zero1's chin strap has four snaps, two of which connect to the inner shell to limit energy flow to the jaw. Advertisement

The $1500 design aims to make helmets safer without dramatically changing the appearance, Vicis CEO and co-founder Dave Marver explained to Bloomberg Business.

You might not be able to see the difference right away, but you can hear it; when slammed on the ground, the helmet lets out a soft ‘thump.’

This is because of the softer outer shell, called the ‘Lode Shell,’ which makes Zero1 unique.

This layer slows the impact by crumpling, and small vertical supports in the Core Layer beneath it allow the material to bend and buckle to slow down the impact.

The hard shell normally found on the outside of the helmet, called the ‘Arch,’ sits sandwiched between the Core Layer and the Form Liner.

The Arch Shell protects the skull, padded by memory foam liner.

Zero1’s initial design, created by Artefact, captured the traditional style Vicis hoped to maintain, and the Vicis engineers built upon it to make it high tech.

‘Artefact, a Seattle-based design firm, created the initial design.

'Their approach for the design is this idea of ‘modern-classic’ heritage in football, plenty of tradition and history,’ said Kurt Fischer, a director of design and usability at Vicis, in a Q&A.

Unlike standard helmets, the design is soft on the outside and hard on the inside to slow impact before it gets to the head. The $1500 design aims to make helmets safer without dramatically changing the appearance. When slammed on the ground, the helmet lets out a soft ‘thump'

Zero1 has a soft outer layer, called the 'Lode Shell,' which slows impact by deforming. Beneath it, the 'Core Layer,' is made up of small vertical struts to allow the shell to bend and buckle. The hard shell normally found on the outside of the helmet, called the ‘Arch,’ sits sandwiched between the Core Layer and the Form Liner

‘Artefact wanted to respect that, by incorporating a vintage aspect. At the same time, they wanted it to be contemporary. Together, we are working to modernize a classic in some sense.

‘We want to take the feelings from the past and add a new high-tech look and feel of the modern world. Artefact did an outstanding job, providing a great foundation for us, and we have continued to evolve and refine the design.

Sam Browd, a neurosurgeon with the Sports Concussion Program at Children’s Hospital in Seattle, and co-founder of Vicis, along with Per Reinhall, sketched early ideas of the helmet using inspiration from tectonic plate movements.

Zero1’s initial design, created by Artefact, captured the traditional style Vicis hoped to maintain, and the Vicis engineers built upon it to make it high tech. Early sketches of the helmet used inspiration from tectonic plate movements

They later paired up with Marver to commercialize the helmet. The first material was a small pink square with struts and wafers, which later transformed into the helmet’s intricate layered cores after the team got funding.

‘It was tricky because players don’t want to play with a marshmallow on their heads,’ Marver told Bloomberg.