FIERCE aims to empower athletes with a desirable and aesthetically pleasing headband that tracks impact to detect potential concussions. Head injuries are a common risk in many sports such as cheerleading, gymnastics and figure skating. In these high performance sports it is important to look good as points are awarded for aesthetic.
Being sustainable is important to us. The headband is made with degradable nylon and is 3D knitted. This means that the headband is made with one continuous thread which eliminates waste during production. Since the bands are made to order we do not have large storages with collections that might be discarded.
The headbands are durable and by removing the sensor they are fully washable.The adjustment mechanism allows the athlete to grow without having to buy a new, or sell it to another person with another head size.
FIERCE holds high precision sensor technology which detects, transmits and displays insightful information about head impact. The headband contains an inertial measurement unit to detect impact to the athlete's head. The accelerometer and gyroscope are polled frequently from the microcontroller and the data is sent via bluetooth low energy to the athlete's mobile phone application. Certain thresholds indicate the severity of the impact. This information can be access via the app and is also uploaded to the cloud once the phone has network access.
Our mobile app is designed with the athlete in mind. It allows the user to view their data and check their history of head impact. It provides real time notifications of serious impact to the athlete's head and alters its user interface to suit the injured athlete. The mobile app connects via bluetooth directly with the FIERCE headband and uploads the data to the cloud when connected to the internet.
A further optimisation of FIERCE is to allow coaches to track multiple team members during practise. A coach's view of their team allows real time data to assist in the event of any falls or hits. It highlights the importance of the athlete's health so that they can take the necessary but vital steps to prevent longterm concussion damage to the athletes.