Inflatable vision unit

Approximate deployed volume and shape of an inflatable vision unit, in gray

An inflatable vision unit (IVU, sold under the trademark Emergency Vision Assurance System or EVAS) is an aircraft safety device which is deployed in the event of heavy smoke in the cockpit, and provides a volume of clear air with clear plastic windows on either side, through which the pilot can see key flight instruments and see out the front windscreen. As of October 2019, it was the only such device approved by the Federal Aviation Administration.[1]

The EVAS device was invented by Bertil Werjefelt, with patents issued in 1994 and 2000.[2][3][4] Its installation cost is about US$30,000, roughly equivalent to a cockpit window pane, according to its inventor.[4]

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