A plane crash: Nobody wants one. It's pretty much universally reviled. Everyone wants to avoid it.
With something so hated and opposed, it's unsurprising that we'll go to great lengths to get around it.
Enter "Project Rebirth:"
This is no joke, folks. This is the future of airplane safety (maybe):
Project REBIRTH is an AI-powered crash survival system using airbags, smart fluids, and reverse thrust to reduce impact and save lives when all else fails. Born from tragedy, built with purpose.
The project is being spearheaded by researchers and engineers from Dubai. It has been submitted to the James Dyson Awards, an "international design award that celebrates, encourages and inspires the next generation of design engineers."
The project was apparently born after the brutal India Air crash from this past June.
The designers said the "emotional storm" after the crash "became hours of research and design" searching for something to prevent a similar crash in the future.
The project uses "five smart technologies" to predict crashes and make them less deadly:
AI Detection: An AI system "monitors altitude, speed, engine status, direction, fire, and pilot response." It will activate automatically if it detects an unavoidable crash below 3,000 feet.
Airbags: "High-speed airbags deploy from the nose, belly, and tail" in under two seconds. Made of "layered fabric," they absorb the plane's impact.
Reverse Thrust: Thrusters will work to reduce speeds up to 20%. .
Smart Fluids: "Non-Newtonian fluids" within walls and seats "stay soft but harden on impact."
Rescue Aids: A "bright orange shell, GPS, infrared beacons, and exit lights" will guide rescuers to the crash site.
Images of this proposed system look, to put it bluntly, very corny and ridiculous. (But of course it doesn't matter how it looks if it saves lives!)
REBIRTH "can be added to existing planes or built into new ones," the engineers say. They are aiming to have the system "tested, approved, and used in real flights" within five years.
Good luck, engineers, and don't let anyone make fun of those airbags!
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