Skip to Content
Uncategorized

Icy Flight

When American Eagle flight 4184 crashed near Roselawn, IN, in 1994, having accumulated a fatal amount of ice on its wings, aeronautics engineer Michael Bragg set out to make sure such accidents didn’t happen again. Bragg and his team at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have since developed a smart icing system that does more than just alert the pilot when ice accumulates on the plane, as current instruments do. Sensors characterize how the ice buildup on the wings or tail is affecting the plane’s aerodynamics. If onboard heaters can’t melt away all the ice, Bragg’s system will tell the pilot how to compensate to maintain control and stability. The system consists of neural-network-based software that collects information from the sensors and translates the data into particular actions. Eventually, Bragg says, the technology will be able to automatically adjust the plane’s speed or wing-flap position. Bragg’s team recently conducted computer simulations and is preparing to flight test the system this winter.

Keep Reading

Most Popular

What to know about this autumn’s covid vaccines

New variants will pose a challenge, but early signs suggest the shots will still boost antibody responses.

DeepMind’s cofounder: Generative AI is just a phase. What’s next is interactive AI.

“This is a profound moment in the history of technology,” says Mustafa Suleyman.

Human-plus-AI solutions mitigate security threats

With the right human oversight, emerging technologies like artificial intelligence can help keep business and customer data secure

Next slide, please: A brief history of the corporate presentation

From million-dollar slide shows to Steve Jobs’s introduction of the iPhone, a bit of show business never hurt plain old business.

Stay connected

Illustration by Rose Wong

Get the latest updates from
MIT Technology Review

Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.

Thank you for submitting your email!

Explore more newsletters

It looks like something went wrong.

We’re having trouble saving your preferences. Try refreshing this page and updating them one more time. If you continue to get this message, reach out to us at customer-service@technologyreview.com with a list of newsletters you’d like to receive.