Do you wear small, medium, or large? If only it were that simple in life, and that there were only three types of bodies, and only three sizes that fit everyone. Well, you and I both know it doesn’t work that way, and especially not for helmets. There are heads of all different shapes and sizes. We got small heads, fat heads, egg heads, block heads, pin heads, and the list goes on. You know what that means, don’t you? It means that when you go down to the motorcycle store and buy a helmet, there is a good chance that it is going to be too tight or a little loose. To deal with this nuisance, 3D scanning is fixing to deal a blow to this problem by creating custom made helmets that don’t just get the general size right, but get get perfect match to the contour of that jug between your shoulders. This makes the helmet not just fit, but fit to perfection.
One type of helmet that is being custom 3D designed is a motorcycle helmet. Bell Helmets is one company that has a good head on its shoulders and is working on a helmet that can fit your noggin no matter what shape is it. It is comfortable for sure, but comfort is just one factor that is taken into consideration. If only the “feel of it” is taken into consideration, you’ll be in big trouble if you get thrown off your bike and slapped by the pavement. Helmets weren’t originally made for fashion. They were made to keep you alive. Bell Helmets are made to be safe, and the process is not too difficult. They simply set you down, put a spandex thing on your head to keep your hair close to your scalp, and then they use 3D scanning to capture the shape of your head. Pretty cool right?
Here is a heads-up to another type of helmet that is using 3D laser scanning technology. It is an NFL football helmet. Unlike riding a motorcycle, in this game, a head-on collision is more than likely, and maybe even multiple times per game. Therefore, having some safe headgear is essential. With all the talk today about concussions and brain damage, those players deserve some well designed equipment. Riddell is one company that has its head in the game and is working on a solution. Using exact measurements of each players head, Riddell can design a helmet that fits great and is padded with the ability to absorb high impact. These custom made helmets will probably be a bit pricier that other standardized size helmets, but protecting those brain cells is worth the money.
These are just two examples of how 3D laser scanning is helping protect heads. I am sure if we put our heads together we could think of some more types of headgear that could utilize 3D laser scanning. For example, custom fitted baseball caps, hard hats, goggles, or maybe even a custom-fitted sombrero. Hat’s off to 3D scanning for watching out for our necks, so that we don’t all lose our heads.