I1 Biometrics of Kirkland, WA plans to grow the Shockbox helmet sensor business it acquired last week by marketing it as a personal locator beacon to outdoor and action sports enthusiasts and their loved ones.
I1 Biometrics, which makes the impact monitoring Vector MouthGuard for football and other contact sports, announced June 2 that it had acquired Shockbox from Impakt Protective Inc. of Kanata, ON in a bid to expand its reach to horseback riders, cyclists, skaters, skiers, snowboards and other enthusiasts who wear helmets, but not mouth guards.
The deal marks recognition that the greatest growth in the rapidly evolving and largely unregulated world of wearable concussion management technology may lay not with high school and college football and hockey teams, but with parents, guardians and companions of outdoor and action sports enthusiasts who often engage in their sports alone, far removed from medical facilities or both.
Shockbox impact sensors were initially envisioned as a way for coaches and trainers to monitor head impacts sustained by football players. The sensor, which is usually attached to the rear of a helmet, sends an alert to the user’s smartphone when it detects a dangerous head impact. Initially, the sensors were marketed to teams as a way to manage concussion risk, but as reported by Sports Executive Weekly in September, 2014, the high cost of certifying equipment to NOCSAE standards has made it difficult for wearable technology start-ups to penetrate the team market.
In coming months, however, i1 Biometrics will roll out an upgraded version of Shockbox that will make it much more valuable to outdoor and action sports enthusiasts and their loved ones, Biometrics President and CEO Jesse Harper told Sports Executive Weekly Thursday. The upgrade will enable the device to transmit its GPS coordinates to preselected emergency contacts if the user does not respond immediately to a head impact alert.
“This will be a new feature moving forward,” Harper wrote in an email.
I1 Biometric said it expects Vector MouthGuard to continue growing penetration across college and high school programs with a focus in sports such as football, lacrosse, and hockey. Shockbox, meanwhile, will focus on selling direct to consumers, including on Amazon, where its current helmet sensor is available for $179.
