Team Wendy has presented new research on its DREW helmet testing system at the Personal Armour Systems Symposium (PASS) in Bruges, Belgium.
The company said the findings demonstrate how DREW can capture both linear and rotational motion during simulated head impacts, addressing limitations in traditional drop-based methods.
According to Team Wendy, DREW is a biofidelic helmet-test rig that replicates head-to-ground falls and evaluates both direct and whiplash-induced impacts.
The system uses a 50th-percentile Hybrid-III head, neck and torso on a pivoting assembly to simulate front, rear and side impact scenarios.
Ron Szalkowski, Head of Research and Development at Team Wendy and co-author of the PASS paper, said: “We want to measure how the brain responds to complex impacts, in ways that we still don’t understand well enough, so we can inform better products and standards going forward.
“It helps move that conversation beyond linear drops to the rotational forces associated with concussion and other forms of traumatic brain injury (TBI).”
Team Wendy’s paper compared its standard EXFIL Ballistic helmet liner with a high-density foam ballistic liner designed for high-speed drop tests.
Using DREW in rear whiplash and front impact configurations, the foam liner produced higher head loads with no meaningful reduction in angular velocity.
Szalkowski said: “The foam liner was associated with more jolting to the head, both straight-on and in a twisting motion.”
He added: “Think of it like tuning a car’s performance on a treadmill, only to learn that it struggles with bumps and turns in the road.
“The danger is that a helmet design can look good on paper, but increased rigidity, for instance, does not necessarily help you in a real fall.”
The PASS poster presentation also showed how DREW can replicate real-world head impacts, such as parachute landings.
Researchers used mouthguard sensor data from paratroopers to tune the DREW system until its simulated rotational dynamics matched recorded field data within 4%.
Szalkowski said: “This gives our engineers a realistic target to design helmets against, and it could go so far as to inform future revisions to test procedures and performance criteria.”
The company confirmed it is continuing DREW-based evaluations across multiple helmet types and collaborating with academic and governmental groups on future testing standards.
Team Wendy said requests for the paper and poster can be made through its marketing director or accessed through the PASS proceedings.
Team Wendy stated that its ongoing work with DREW reflects a continued focus on refining impact assessment through peer-reviewed research.
The company added that the results presented at PASS highlight opportunities to enhance helmet design and testing methods across defense, law enforcement and emergency response applications.
Engineers and standards developers in defense, law enforcement and emergency services may benefit from the DREW methodology’s more realistic assessment of impact mechanics.
By capturing rotational acceleration in addition to linear forces, DREW could influence how protective headgear is evaluated for concussion and whiplash prevention.
Testing systems based on this approach could contribute to updated standards for ballistic, tactical and rescue helmets that better reflect field conditions.
Researchers and testing bodies seeking to develop improved performance metrics for impact safety may also apply DREW data to align future criteria with biomechanical evidence.
