Indian Student Engineers Propose “Project REBIRTH” to Protect Aircraft from Crashes Using AI, Airbags and Smart Materials
Idea enters the 2025 James Dyson Award: AI-powered system aims to detect unavoidable crashes below three thousand feet and shield aircraft with fast-deploy airbags, reverse thrust, and rescue features
Two engineering students from the Birla Institute of Technology and Science (BITS), Dubai campus, have unveiled a radical safety concept named Project REBIRTH, designed to make aircraft crashes more survivable rather than only preventing them.
The idea focuses on a system that automatically detects when a crash is imminent and then activates protective measures including external airbags, smart fluids, and reverse thrust, among others.
The project has been submitted as an entry for the 2025 James Dyson Award.
Project REBIRTH was motivated by the Air India crash in Ahmedabad in June 2025.
The designers, Eshel Wasim and Dharsan Srinivasan, describe being driven by grief and a sense of helplessness: they sought a way to respond to the fear passengers must face when disaster strikes—and to offer a possibility of survival even after major failure.
The system uses multiple technologies.
An AI module constantly monitors flight parameters—altitude, speed, engine status, direction, fire, and pilot response.
If the system determines that a crash is unavoidable and the aircraft is below three thousand feet (about nine-hundred fourteen metres), it activates automatically, though pilot override is possible.
In under two seconds, high-speed airbags from layered fabric are deployed at the nose, belly, and tail of the aircraft.
Reverse thrust—if engines are still functioning—helps to slow the aircraft; if not, gas thrusters are triggered, reducing speed and stabilising the descent by eight to twenty percent.
Smart non-Newtonian fluids are placed behind walls and seats; they remain soft under normal conditions and harden on impact, aiming to reduce injury.
On the rescue side, the system proposes a high-visibility orange shell, GPS trackers, infrared beacons, and emergency lighting to aid post-crash rescue efforts.
So far the idea exists largely in prototype and simulation.
A scale model (one to twelve) has been built using CO₂ canisters, Raspberry Pi sensors, and staged logic for deployment.
Tests in simulation suggest Project REBIRTH could reduce impact forces by more than sixty per cent.
The designers say they are preparing for full-scale testing, including crash-sled trials and wind-tunnel evaluation, and hope the system can be retrofitted into existing aircraft or integrated into new aircraft designs.
Project REBIRTH is among the entries for the 2025 James Dyson Award, whose international winner is due to be announced on November 5.
The judges shortlist a “Top Twenty” international submissions beforehand.
The students are also planning patenting, collaboration with aerospace labs, regulatory safety approvals, and further development to bring the system closer to real-world use.
The idea focuses on a system that automatically detects when a crash is imminent and then activates protective measures including external airbags, smart fluids, and reverse thrust, among others.
The project has been submitted as an entry for the 2025 James Dyson Award.
Project REBIRTH was motivated by the Air India crash in Ahmedabad in June 2025.
The designers, Eshel Wasim and Dharsan Srinivasan, describe being driven by grief and a sense of helplessness: they sought a way to respond to the fear passengers must face when disaster strikes—and to offer a possibility of survival even after major failure.
The system uses multiple technologies.
An AI module constantly monitors flight parameters—altitude, speed, engine status, direction, fire, and pilot response.
If the system determines that a crash is unavoidable and the aircraft is below three thousand feet (about nine-hundred fourteen metres), it activates automatically, though pilot override is possible.
In under two seconds, high-speed airbags from layered fabric are deployed at the nose, belly, and tail of the aircraft.
Reverse thrust—if engines are still functioning—helps to slow the aircraft; if not, gas thrusters are triggered, reducing speed and stabilising the descent by eight to twenty percent.
Smart non-Newtonian fluids are placed behind walls and seats; they remain soft under normal conditions and harden on impact, aiming to reduce injury.
On the rescue side, the system proposes a high-visibility orange shell, GPS trackers, infrared beacons, and emergency lighting to aid post-crash rescue efforts.
So far the idea exists largely in prototype and simulation.
A scale model (one to twelve) has been built using CO₂ canisters, Raspberry Pi sensors, and staged logic for deployment.
Tests in simulation suggest Project REBIRTH could reduce impact forces by more than sixty per cent.
The designers say they are preparing for full-scale testing, including crash-sled trials and wind-tunnel evaluation, and hope the system can be retrofitted into existing aircraft or integrated into new aircraft designs.
Project REBIRTH is among the entries for the 2025 James Dyson Award, whose international winner is due to be announced on November 5.
The judges shortlist a “Top Twenty” international submissions beforehand.
The students are also planning patenting, collaboration with aerospace labs, regulatory safety approvals, and further development to bring the system closer to real-world use.
