A team of engineers is working to make plane crashes safer by designing an AI-powered crash survival system that uses external airbags to reduce impact.
Created by Eshel Wasim and Dharsan Srinivasan from ITS Pilani’s Dubai campus, Project REBIRTH uses AI sensors to detect when a crash is happening and automatically activate when the plane is below 3,000 feet. The system can be manually overridden by pilots if necessary.
AI-Triggered Airbag Bubble
“This sounds like an interesting idea BUT airline disasters that this airbag system is intended to mitigate would mean that future aircraft would all be carrying the additional weight and other compromises to mitigate one accident in 20 years,” Jeff Edwards, a retired US Navy bombardier and aviation safety consultant, said to Popular Science.
According to Interesting Engineering, the system detects plane crashes by monitoring speed, altitude, engine status, direction, temperature, and pilot activity. When the AI system decides a crash is inevitable, airbags automatically deploy from the nose, tail, and belly of the plane in under two seconds. The impact-absorbing airbags are made from layers of Kevlar, TPU, Zylon, and non-Newtonian smart fluids.
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The system further helps in the event of a crash by taking control of the engines, in the event that they’re still working. If engines are functional, reverse thrust automatically slows the craft. If the engines aren’t working, gas thrusters activate to reduce speed and stabilize the aircraft.
Once the plane has landed, the system has bright orange paint, GPS, infrared beacons, and flashing lights that are designed to help rescue teams locate the crash site as quickly as possible.
The team’s 1:12 scale prototype includes AI-powered microcontrollers, sensors, and carbon dioxide sensors. The system activates safety measures when it notices changes in vibration, speed, and force. Based on computer simulations, the concept can reduce crash impact by over 60 percent.
Though the system is currently just a prototype, engineers behind the project will soon be working with aircraft manufacturers to test a full-sized version in crash simulators and wind tunnels. The goal is to ensure the system is compatible with both new and existing airplanes.
“Today, REBIRTH is ready for scaled testing, with schematics, simulations, and materials data prepared,” the team said.
