Instant Bounce

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  The mechanism when its contracted.

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  The mechanism when its fully extended

Inspiration: I really liked the challenge when I first heard about it. I instantly went to some sort of temporary device that could retract in and out like and awning.

What it does: Its a device that can be stored by an airline at its individual airports and then quickly added to an airplane if it's believed that the plane might face hail during its flight. Once on, the pilots will then have the ability to deploy and retract the awning itself from the housing when the hail is reached.

How I built it: I first got a 3D print-out of a Boeing 737 wing and then designed in a CAD program the unit itself and printed that. I also created an arduino program with a stepper motor to power the device.

Challenges I ran into: In terms of the overall idea the biggest problem I see is drag. The ways I overcame this is one, having the device itself be detachable so the drag only has to be an issue when hail is expected during a flight. On top of that the awning itself is retractable so the extra drag caused by it is only experienced when the pilots deploy it.

Accomplishments that I'm proud of: The stepper motor that turns the device is programmed in Arduino. I've never been good at programming so the fact that I was able to get this program to do exactly what I want is a huge personal accomplishment!

What I learned: To always be adaptable and constantly think of improvements to a design, even as you are designing it. There are a number of features, including the fold-ability of this device that occurred to me mid-design. So I was able to implement them because I was constantly thinking about what to do next!

What's next for Instant Bounce: One way that would be a much better solution to the drag problem is if the housing for the awning, and therefore the awning itself was in the wing. That would be a great next step. however that's only really realistic in the creation of future planes and doesn't do anything to address the hundreds of thousands of planes that are already out there on the market. But if the housing eventually got in the wing then one day this outside casing would no longer be needed.

Built With

• arduino