For decades, people have been looking for ways to float in the air without worrying about anything.
Now two engineers believe they have found a solution to this problem, but to do so they had to look back to earth.
Project Revival, created after the crash of Air India 171 in Ahmedabad three months ago, is an aircraft survival system designed to predict disaster.
If artificial intelligence (AI) suspects that something might go wrong, such as an engine failure, it deploys a massive airbag “cocoon” to cushion the plane's impact.
The airbags, made from multi-layered fabric, deploy “from the nose, abdomen and tail in less than two seconds” to absorb the impact.
The Project Rebirth website features various mockups of the system that appear to have been created by artificial intelligence: they are riddled with spelling errors and have a yellow tint.
The concept was created by Eshel Wasim and Dharsan Srinivasan from the Birla Institute of Technology and Science in Dubai.
They said, “REBIRTH is more than just engineering. It is a response to grief. A promise that survival can be planned, and that even after failure, there can be a second chance.”
The system gradually deploys airbags, CO2 tanks and sensors, warning pilots and preparing the plane for an emergency landing.
Drag parachutes help create reverse thrust to slow the aircraft during a controlled landing.
The design raises some issues, such as the possibility of the system being triggered by mistake and the inevitable increase in fuselage weight, which will lead to higher costs.
One engineer said his mother's reaction to the Air India crash inspired him to come up with a solution to the problem of air crashes.
Flight 171 was heading to London's Gatwick Airport when it crashed seconds after takeoff, killing all but one on board.
The crash investigation is focusing on the fuel lever switches, one of which was triggered just after the Boeing 787 took off.
It is not known whether the incident was intentional or accidental.
Wasim and Srinivasan said the project was born out of a “moment of heartbreak.”
“Why is there no system for surviving failure? I shared this with a friend. This emotional storm resulted in hours of research and design,” they said.
The Renaissance project has been named a finalist for the James Dyson Award, which recognises inventions that have the potential to change the world.
The idea is the latest in a series of unusual concepts to improve aviation safety.
In 2016, Ukrainian inventor Vladimir Nikolaevich Tatarenko attracted the world's attention with his removable airplane cockpit.
The fuselage was designed to be made of ultra-light materials such as Kevlar and carbon fiber, and fitted with parachutes.
However, critics have suggested that the innovative cabin could actually weaken the plane's structure.
There have also been concerns that the removable cabin could pose a danger to people on the ground as it lacks a steering function.
Some planes have been designed with built-in parachutes that deploy in an emergency to slowly lower the entire plane to the ground.
One such design is the Cirrus Airframe parachute system, which received FAA approval in 1998 and remains the only system of its kind to date.
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The parachute is activated in seconds by a solid-fuel rocket motor located in the rear of the fuselage.
As of 2019, 21 of the 24 aircraft that crashed with the system on board have been successfully repaired and returned to service.
The main question to ask about these innovations, however, is whether they are needed in a world where aviation accidents remain extremely rare.
Last year's IATA safety report found that only 1.14 out of a million flights ended in accidents.
Sourse: metro.co.uk
