Airplane airbags? After the tragic Air India crash , Indian engineers have designed a new AI-based safety system to prevent further air disasters. The project, called Project REBIRTH, is a finalist for the prestigious James Dyson Award, which recognizes inventions that can change the world.

"Project REBIRTH is the first AI-based crash survival system," the device's description on the website reads. "It activates intelligent airbags, shock-absorbing fluids, and reverse thrust in midair, turning fatal crashes into safe landings."

Artificial intelligence sensors, it is explained, can detect when a crash is about to occur, activating the airbags that envelop the fuselage and transform the plane into a "giant popcorn." This protective padding ensures that the landing is not fatal or violent, regardless of the plane's speed. The system works by monitoring altitude, speed, engine status, direction, potential fire, and, most importantly, the pilot's response, who can always abort the deployment.

The designers, engineers Eshel Wasim and Dharsan Srinivasan of the Dubai campus of the Birla Institute of Technology and Science, said they were inspired by the tragic crash of Air India Flight 171 in June. The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner crashed in Ahmedabad just 30 seconds after takeoff for London, killing all but one of 260 people on board.

“After the Ahmedabad crash in June 2025, my mother couldn't sleep,” said one of the engineers. “She kept thinking about the fear the passengers and pilots must have felt, knowing there was no way out. That sense of helplessness tormented us. Why isn't there a system for survival after a failure?” “That emotional storm transformed into hours of research and planning. REBIRTH is more than an engineering idea: it's a response to pain. A promise that survival can be planned and that, even after failure, there can be a second chance.”