{"id":19743,"date":"2018-04-09T10:59:30","date_gmt":"2018-04-09T14:59:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.samsung.com\/us\/?p=19743"},"modified":"2023-06-20T13:41:23","modified_gmt":"2023-06-20T17:41:23","slug":"inspired-friends-experience-new-jersey-middle-school-students-innovate-helmet-concussion-sensor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/samsung-newsroom-production.barbariangroup.com\/us\/cavallini-nj-2018sft-national-finalist\/","title":{"rendered":"Inspired by a Friend\u2019s Experience, New Jersey Middle School Students Innovate Helmet Concussion Sensor"},"content":{"rendered":"

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For many 8th graders<\/span>, contact sports like football, lacrosse, or hockey are a popular pastime, despite real risk of concussion. An even greater risk, though, is not noticing a hit has caused a concussion, until it\u2019s too late. But for a group of 8th<\/sup> graders at Cavallini Middle School in Upper Saddle River, NJ the lesson was learned when a friend got hit a little too hard.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy friend got a really bad concussion, you could see in the days after, even the weeks after he couldn\u2019t use his computer and because my friends and I play football, I enjoy it a lot, and I just want it to be safer for me and my friends,\u201d explained Ian L., a student at the school.<\/p>\n

Inspired by the challenge issued by the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow <\/strong>contest, these friends, guided by their teacher, Jonathan Harvey, designed and coded a helmet concussion sensor and a corresponding app they named \u201cHead Safe\u201d to alert coaches and school officials of hard hits.<\/p>\n

Harvey said their friend\u2019s concussion experience fueled their passion for getting the job done. \u201cIt affected them on a very personal level, and that drove them to come up with a solution so that fewer concussions go undiagnosed,\u201d explained Harvey.<\/p>\n

Now, as a top 10 finalist team, selected from thousands of school applications across the United States, the group will take home $50,000 of Samsung technology for their school and compete in New York City, this week, for a chance to win another $100,000 worth of technology.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe put in so much work since October when we first entered the competition until now. It\u2019s great to see it all pay off,\u201d said Jake C., another student member of the team.<\/p>\n

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The kids used science, technology, engineering, arts and math (STEAM) skills to rise to the challenge. They learned Python and JavaScript coding and built a Micro Electrical Mechanical System sensor in order to create their prototype. The sensor calculates linear acceleration and is also able to read vibration and shock.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s an accelerometer sensor that we coded to sense how much force is applied to a hit. This data is then relayed through Bluetooth to our Head Safe app. A coach can then use our app to see if a player had a hit that may need to be looked at,\u201d explained Ian L.<\/p>\n

This way, more players can feel safer on the field knowing that if the G forces reach a certain threshold, the right people are alerted and the athlete can be pulled out of the game.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs a football player, going into a game, you always know there\u2019s that risk of an injury, of getting a concussion. With our helmet sensor, now there\u2019s a way you know you\u2019ll be safe, so when you get hit, there won\u2019t be another hit that will then cause you damage not just that day, that week, but years later.\u201d said Josh C., a student member of the team.<\/p>\n

The forward thinking demonstrated by the Cavallini students doesn\u2019t just benefit future sports players, but also provides more students like them with the opportunity to learn and experiment with cutting-edge technology.<\/p>\n

\u201cTo win $50,000 in Samsung Technology for our school is amazing because technology is such a big part of everyone\u2019s lives now. To be able to provide those kinds of resources for future Cavallini students is great,\u201d said Alex F., a student who also worked on the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow project.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019ll be able to use this technology, and maybe one day follow in our footsteps.\u201d\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

To find out more about 2018 Samsung Solve for Tomorrow national finalist teams, please visit\u00a0smsng.news\/SFT2018Top10<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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