"If you have a massive electrical problem it's possible that you could cut off all the commands out to the control surfaces, " said aeronautics expert John Hansman.

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Unlike other aircraft where the pilot's controls are manually attached to the flaps and rudders, Airbus 330 airliners are equipped with a "fly by wire" system that sends electronic signals from an onboard computer to move key control surfaces.

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The control surfaces, acting independently or together with a variable angle of attack of up to 20 degrees (front) and 40 degrees (rear), move the car's center of aerodynamic balance around to compensate for the forces of pitch, roll, yaw and high-speed lift.

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Mechanical linkages connect the joysticks and rudder pedals to external surfaces that control pitch, roll and heading.

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V4, where the light reflected from a surface is compared with that reflected from surrounding surfaces, in order to control for relative rather than absolute brightness.

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Using a force control system reacting to the pressure on the feet, HyQ can navigate and traverse irregular surfaces and adjust its pace to overcome obstacles of different sizes and shapes.

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