ADVANCED HELICOPTER PILOTAGE VISUAL REQUIREMENTS

This paper reports the results of a study performed by McDonnell Douglas for the U.S. Army CECOM Night Vision and Electro-Optics Directorate (NVEOD) as a task under the Advanced Helicopter Pilotage (AHP) Contract, No. DAAB07-91-C-K754. The study was initiated by NVEOD to conceptually define future helicopter night pilotage systems and to assure that these systems are significantly more responsive to the needs of helicopter pilot visual requirements than previously fielded devices. Pilotage was considered on the basis of the ability to conduct military night flight operations based solely on imagery derived from combined image intensification and Forward-Looking InfraRed (FLIR) sensors. The night vision system of the future is envisioned as a high resolution, wide Field-of-View (FOV), monochromatic, cockpit-mounted and/or helmet-slaved display. Features of the envisioned system, which are intended to accommodate human visual needs, are discussed in this paper. The visual sciences portion of the AHP program was conducted during the initial six months of the overall one-year effort. Its purpose was to identify requirements which, when subsequently imposed upon the conceptual system, would tend to optimize the system from the standpoint of the human visual system. The visual data areas discussed included: Central and peripheral resolution, FOV, Field-of-Regard (FOR), luminance, chromaticity, refresh and update rate, image noise and distortion limits, shades of grey, sensor placement relative to the operator, eye and head motion characteristics, vibration considerations, and depth/distance cueing. Also discussed are the merits of virtual and real displays. Summary data from each of these areas are provided in the paper.