The Problem

Environmental factors like wind and rotor downwash during helicopter rescues can cause uncontrollable spinning of rescuers or subjects being hoisted.

This spinning adds extra complexity and time to rescue missions and often results in wrist and ankle injuries for rescuers trying to stabilize upon touchdown. Victims experience nausea and dizziness, which is dangerous given their already vulnerable state.

Currently, no definitive solutions exist to stop this spinning in all scenarios, only best practices to reduce its occurrence.

Our Solution

Our design will connect the rescue payload to the helicopter hoist cable via an intermediary system that can detect when the payload starts spinning, and apply an appropriate torque to the payload to stop its spin.

Being an intermediary system, it can have the appropriate mechanical interface to connect to any existing helicopter cables and any rescue payloads, allowing it to be easily added and removed without having to change existing helicopter systems.