AbstractsComputer Science

Helmets are widely used as protection against sports-related concussions. The degree of concussion protection offered by a helmet may be related to the fit between the helmet and head. This thesis discusses different approaches that could be used for helmet fitting, and presents the design and implementation of a prototype helmet fitting recommendation system. The prototype system uses a Kinect sensor to scan a client’s head and then compares the head shape to helmet shapes from a database of off-the-shelf helmets. A slice extraction method is used to compare a standard reference slice extracted from the head to a corresponding slice from the helmet. The degree to which the helmet fits the client’s head is calculated and displayed to the user. This thesis describes the scanning procedure that was conducted to obtain 3D head shapes from a number of participants, and reports results about the measured head and helmet shapes; results show there is significant variation in both head and helmet shapes. The prototype system could potentially help a concussion expert make recommendations about helmet fit to clients, if more research about the effects of helmet fitting on concussion protection becomes available.