And if a falling plane could literally inflate a giant bubble, a kind of airbag to protect everyone on board, that is the bold proposal of the Rebirth project, developed by engineers at Beat Pilani's Dubai campus and already a finalist for the 2025 James Dyson Prize. The idea is simple to explain, but complex to execute, using artificial intelligence and sensors to activate external airbags around the ship, capable of cushioning the impact and saving lives. The system starts from a brutally realistic principle, when everything fails, there must still be a last layer of defense. The Rebirth constantly monitors variables such as engine, direction, speed, altitude, temperature and even the pilot's activity, if it detects that the fall is inevitable and the plane is below 910 m, it automatically fires airbags in the nose, belly and tail of the aircraft, all in less than 2 seconds. Pilots, however, can deactivate the system manually if not necessary, these “airbags” are not the common ones seen in vehicles, they are made of a combination of Kevlar, TPU, Zand and non-Newtonian intelligent fluids, materials capable of absorbing extreme shocks in situations where the engines are still running.

The system activates reverse thrust to decelerate the aircraft, otherwise it releases gas propellants to try to reduce the impact speed. After the forced landing, a suite of rescue measures comes into action, fluorescent orange paint, flashing lights, infrared flares and integrated GPS, all to guide the teams to the scene quickly. The current prototype was built on a reduced 1x12 scale and uses microcontrollers, sensors and CO2 cylinders, all managed by AI software that reacts to vibrations and speed variations. In computer simulations, the concept reduced the impact by more than 60%. An impressive figure that must now be validated in wind tunnels and full-size collusion tests. The team also plans to adapt the system for both new aircraft and existing models. Of course, the challenges are enormous. Specialists already warn that the extra weight and complexity of airbags may represent obstacles to their large-scale adoption, but if proven in practical tests, Rebirth could inaugurate a new generation of aviation safety systems.