Design & Development of Automatic Actuation Device (AAD) For Reserve Parachute System.

Parachuting is used by military personnel, paratroopers, wildfire-fighters, skydivers at sporting events of skydiving or air shows and others as a vital part of their profession/ hobby. 

Whatever the reason for parachuting, safety is a primary concern. In addition to a primary parachute, most parachutists equip themselves with a secondary or reserve parachute. If the primary parachute malfunctions, the parachutist deploys the reserve parachute in order to land safely.

AAD is a safety device which is fitted with reserve parachute and initiate automatic opening of reserve parachute in case of free fall speed exceeds a prescribed limit below specified altitude. This unit is in three parts viz control unit, processing unit and cutter.

Design requirement of AAD System-

AAD system must consists of following:

• It should be capable of self-calibration.
• It should be electronic battery-operated tamper-proof system with battery life of more than four years.
• Weight: It should not be more than 250 gms.
• It should have provision for activation at preset altitude and free fall velocity.
• The device should have a feature for setting activation altitude if aircraft take off location and the drop zone location are at different altitudes.
• The device should be rugged and robust to withstand rigours of freefall jumps.
• The device should have auto switch off facility after use.
• Operating range for AAD should be 1500 to 40,000 feet.
• Activation altitude should be between 1500 to 3000 ft.
• It should have self-testing facility.
• It should have service life not less than 10 years.
• It should not get affected when exposed to salt /fresh water to a depth of 05 feet for duration of at least 10-15 minutes.
• It should provide convenient information monitoring such as Total number of jumps, overall free fall time, last free fall time, max speed of the last free fall, number of saves, atmospheric pressure, temperature etc. 
• It should be lightweight and very robust device.
• It should easily adapt to use in all weather conditions.
• It should have Alpha numeric display for ease of use and communication.
• It should be designed to generate alerts for periodic maintenance and the maintenance due date should be accessed from the display.
• Overall cost of the AAD device should be competitive to the market cost.

It should be certified by some globally recognized standard body related with parachute industry.

Future Expectation from the prototype/Technology developed

The demand for this high-quality parachuting equipment i.e. AAD is expected to grow, driven by promotion of adventure sports and recreational activities in India. Indian Armed Forces, as well as the skydiving industry constantly seek for reliable AAD