Engineering
Designing a Fault-Tolerant Fly-by-Wire System: Triple Redundancy and Voting Logic
Quick fact
In a triple-redundant fly-by-wire system, the three flight control computers continuously compare their outputs and 'vote' on the correct action. If one computer disagrees with the other two, it is immediately isolated, and the system continues flying normally—no single failure can take down the aircraft's control.
Why this is interesting
What happens when the electronic brain of an aircraft fails at 35,000 feet? Triple redundancy and voting logic are the answer—but how exactly do three computers prevent a crash?