'Make in India': This black box self-ejects, helps save vital data

[anant_s]

'Make in India': This black box self-ejects, helps save vital data

Highlights

• DRDO has developed the floating black box as part of the ‘Make in India’ initiative.
• DRDO floating device will make retrieval of debris, info easier
• It will export the device after getting approvals

Several aircraft have gone missing in mysterious circumstances — some never to be traced again, others found only after decades, like the remains of two airplanes that an amateur investigator found+ on Mont Blanc in the French Alps last week, which experts believe could be those of one of the aircraft that Air India lost in two crashes in 1950 and 1966.

But military R&D agency Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) has now developed a self-ejectable black box+ for airplanes. The device ejects from aircraft when it sinks after an accident and self-activates when it comes in contact with water, with a homing signal that can help rescuers easily locate the device. Built as part of `Make in India' initiative, the product, aimed for use on planes and submarines, has received "notice of allowance for patent" in the US and Russia.

The product can prevent situations like the 2016 AN32 crash where in spite of using deep-sea probes, authorities were not able to trace debris in the sea.

BSAT — - Ejectable Black Box Recorder with Satellite Transmitter -has been developed and tested by Naval Science and Technology Laboratory of DRDO in Visakhapatnam. It attracted attention from experts at an exhibition "Science for Soldiers & Society" organised in Chennai at the CVRDE in Avadi.

Officials said the black box was developed based on the tracking technology currently used to detect torpedoes. DRDO decided to develop it further and has perfected it for an aircraft. It aims to export the product after receiveing approvals.

"In most of the air crashes in the sea, the conventional black boxes fail probably because they sink to the bottom of the ocean which could be thousands of metres deep and also get affected by the currents or damaged in the impact of the crash," an official said. "BSAT is designed to over come all these hassles. It will eject the moment an aircraft touches the water and floats on the surface. It can also be tethered to the flight so that some portion of the debris be retrieved," the official added.

The floating black box has a good use in defence as it can send out signals when a submarine goes below its prescribed depth and sinks, but its chief use would be in civil aviation. "The invention is good because it can the crash site and save flight information," said air safety expert and former pilot Captain Mohan Ranganathan.

A black box stores data including speed, altitude and other parameters of the flight of an aircraft. The information is crucial to piece together the cause of an accident. Airbus and European aviation regulator are planning to have ejectable black boxes on commercial airliners in the next two years.

Ranganathan said implementation of the new technology has to be hastened.Retrofitting of such equipment in aircraft will require permission and certification from Federal Aviation Agency.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...elps-save-vital-data/articleshow/59860611.cms


@Levina @nair @Nilgiri @Abingdonboy @Roybot @third eye @AUSTERLITZ @scorpionx @jbgt90 @Kinetic @Water Car Engineer @thesolar65 @Guynextdoor2 @agamdilawari

 

[TOUGH GUY]

Published August 1, 2017
SOURCE: TNN

Ejectable black boxes used on Commercial Airlines

Learning from past air crashes, DRDO has developed an ejectable and floating black box for planes. The machine will eject from an aircraft when it sinks after an accident and will get activated after coming in contact with water. Developed as part of ‘Make in India’ initiative, the product, aimed for use on planes and submarines, has received “notice of allowance for patent” in the US and Russia.

The product can prevent situations like the AN32 crash where in spite of using deep-sea probes, authorities were not able to trace debris in the sea. The ejectable black box becomes crucial for an aircraft as majority of the air routes are over the high seas where currents carry away crash debris making them difficult to find.

BSAT – Ejectable Black Box Recorder with Satellite Transmitter — has been developed and tested by Naval Science and Technology Laboratory of DRDO in Visakhapatnam. It attracted attention from experts at an exhibition “Science for Soldier” organised in Chennai at the CVRDe in Avadi.

Officials said the black box was developed based on the tracking technology currently used to detect torpedoes. DRDO decided to develop it further and has perfected it for an aircraft. It aims to export the product after receiveing approvals.





“In most of the air crashes in the sea, the conventional black boxes fail probably because they sink to the bottom of the ocean which could be thousands of metres deep and also get affected by the currents or damaged in the impact of the crash. BSAT is designed to overcome all these hassles. It will eject the moment a plane touches the water and float. It can also be tethered to the flight so that some portion of the debris be retrieved,” an official said.

It has a good use in defence as it can send out signals when a submarine sinks, but its chief use would be in civil aviation. “The invention is good because it will help find the location of the crash and retrieve flight information stored in the black box,” said air safety expert and former pilot Captain Mohan Ranganathan.

A black box stores data including speed, altitude and other parameters of the aircraft when it is flying. The information is crucial to piece together the cause of an accident. Airbus and European aviation regulator are planning to have ejectable black boxes on commercial airliners in the next two years. Ranganathan said implementation of the new technology has to be hastened. Retrofitting of such equipment in aircraft will require permission and certification from Federal Aviation Agency.?

 

[Nilgiri]

They should also patent it in EU...unless want to rely on statutes EU has with USA for patent IPR database. That way all the largest aviation suppliers are covered. Canada, Japan and China can also be considered for filing.

Will be interesting to see how much this is adopted. It will compete with data streaming tech being tested right now, but there is common ground with that too given FARs (and derivatives) clearly wants hard copy on the aircraft as well anyway.

 

[Guynextdoor2]

I think it will require structural changes to AC design. But the idea is very good, has good potential. They should paint it orange though.

They should also patent it in EU...unless want to rely on statutes EU has with USA for patent IPR database. That way all the largest aviation suppliers are covered. Canada, Japan and China can also be considered for filing.

Will be interesting to see how much this is adopted. It will compete with data streaming tech being tested right now, but there is common ground with that too given FARs (and derivatives) clearly wants hard copy on the aircraft as well anyway.

I think it will still be a good redundancy option.