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What We Did
Many of us are familiar with the feeling of falling off a bike or accidentally banging our head on a shelf. Some impacts are harder and affect us more than others and we’re used to protecting ourselves with armour such as bike helmets and knee pads.
In an effort to protect us from harsh impacts, UC researchers and honours students created a material capable of stopping even bullets at short range. The material shown above weighs as much as a piece of toast, about half the weight of materials with comparable stopping power, and can be heated up and remoulded to an individual’s body shape.
Trying on armour vests and moving through an obstacle course led to an appreciation of how vital weight and range of motion are to any armour application, whether you’re a casual mountain biker or a police officer. The University of Canterbury team is now working on developing their prototype technology into products that can benefit New Zealanders and other peoples around the globe.
Who Was Involved
Senior Lecturer Dr. Matthew Cowan and Honours Students T. Kelly and K. Ford
Why It Matters
Increasing our ability to work safely and enjoy the thrill of sports while reducing our physical risks is a key to keeping New Zealand happy and healthy. Additionally, this research project was started in response to some of New Zealand’s tragic recent incidents with the aim of protecting those who place their lives at risk to protect us. Having lived in the United States and seen the social distance that fear of losing one’s life places between law enforcement and the general public, the team wanted to contribute to maintaining the positive relationship between the New Zealand community and our police.
Dr. Cowan says, “The aim is to provide a sense of physical security that generates a platform of safety and confidence as the foundation to building empathy.”
Learn More
Parties interested in developing this technology into commercial products can contact matthew.cowan@canterbury.ac.nz
