User tools
Using science to save face
Riot police around the world could one day be wearing protective head and face gear that is being designed and made in New Zealand for hockey and cricket players in 61 countries.
Hockey balls, softballs or cricket balls can come flying at a player’s head at 160 kilometres an hour (around 45 metres a second), and the faster the ball, the more chance of serious injury. OBO, a Palmerston North sports gear company that already supplies about 65 per cent of the world’s hockey goalies, is researching exactly what happens to the body, particularly the face and head, when hard balls hit at high speed. By understanding the science of high-speed hard-ball impacts, body tolerance, injury protection and materials, the company is designing face protection so people can play without fear of serious injury.
The research involves a ‘cannon’ firing balls at 200 kilometres an hour, with the motion and impact data providing information that has never before been captured in this form. This data then feeds into the design process. There are international safety standards governing the manufacture of helmets but no such standards exist for face protection, so OBO is also developing these.
The new face protection will be of greater strength than existing face protection and allow for players to see clearly and move easily – vital for softball pitchers and wicket keepers, as well as hockey players, who can face unpredictable balls when running out to defend during penalty corners.
OBO founder Simon Barnett says higher ball speeds mean less reaction time, greater damage and higher medical and dentistry bills, so the need for face protection is vital.
As well as the design and new high-strength materials, the company has to also consider aesthetics or how something looks.
“We’ve talked to players and identified their needs and then worked in the laboratory to develop materials and shapes with the necessary performance characteristics and then added the beauty factor.
“The gear has to be functional and the players have to like wearing it, so it has to look good but it also needs to look intimidating to the opposition,” says Mr Barnett.
The results of OBO’s scientific testing are likely to be on the market in 2009. Understanding new materials and designing equipment that takes the impact of potentially bone-breaking activity is also likely to give OBO a foot into new markets, such as protection for police working in riot or dangerous situations where vision and mobility are essential.
Mr Barnett says he gets plenty of feedback from his 13-year-old daughter who plays in goal for her Palmerston North Girls’ High School hockey team.
OBO’s research is made possible by $217,000 in funding from TechNZ, the business investment arm of the Foundation for Research, Science and Technology.