FCSR TASK ORDER TITLE: FLIGHT TEST OF SYNTHETIC AND ENHANCED VISION SYSTEMS TECHNOLOGIES FOR NEXTGEN 1.0 BA…

Public award description

FCSR TASK ORDER TITLE: FLIGHT TEST OF SYNTHETIC AND ENHANCED VISION SYSTEMS TECHNOLOGIES FOR NEXTGEN 1.0 BACKGROUND: THE INTEGRATED INTELLIGENT FLIGHT DECK (IIFD) PROJECT, UNDER NASAS AVIATION SAFETY PROGRAM (AVSP), IS CONDUCTING RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT, TEST, AND EVALUATION (RDT&E) OF DISPLAYS AND DECISION SUPPORT TECHNOLOGIES WHICH MAY PROACTIVELY OVERCOME AIRCRAFT SAFETY BARRIERS THAT WOULD OTHERWISE CONSTRAIN THE FULL REALIZATION OF THE NEXT GENERATION AIR TRANSPORTATION SYSTEM (NEXTGEN). PART OF THIS RESEARCH EFFORT INVOLVES THE USE OF SYNTHETIC AND ENHANCED VISION SYSTEMS AS ENABLING TECHNOLOGIES TO MEET THESE SAFETY CHALLENGES. EQUIVALENT VISUAL OPERATIONS (EVO) ARE DEFINED AS OPERATIONS WHERE AN ELECTRONIC MEANS PROVIDES SUFFICIENT VISIBILITY OF THE EXTERNAL WORLD AND OTHER REQUIRED FLIGHT REFERENCES ON A FLIGHT CREWS COCKPIT DISPLAYS THAT THE SAFETY, OPERATIONAL TEMPOS, AND VISUAL FLIGHT RULES (VFR)-LIKE PROCEDURES ARE REPLICATED IN ALL WEATHER CONDITIONS. SYNTHETIC AND ENHANCED VISION SYSTEM TECHNOLOGIES ARE CRITICAL ENABLING TECHNOLOGIES TO EVO WITH THE ULTIMATE OBJECTIVE OF EVO, BEING ONE COMPONENT OF A BETTER THAN VISUAL (BTV) OPERATIONAL CAPABILITY REPLICATING THE CAPACITY OF TODAYS VFR FLIGHT AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, MEETING AND IMPROVING ON THE SAFETY OF TODAYS VFR FLIGHT IN ALL-WEATHER NEXTGEN OPERATIONS. AS AN INITIAL STEP IN MEETING THESE NEXTGEN GOALS, COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH BETWEEN NASA AND THE FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION (FAA) WAS BEEN ESTABLISHED TO ENSURE EFFECTIVE DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF REGULATORY GUIDANCE AND PROCEDURES TO SUPPORT THE INTRODUCTION AND USE OF SYNTHETIC AND ENHANCED VISION SYSTEM TECHNOLOGIES. THIS WORK BUILDS FROM AND EXTENDS CURRENT OPERATIONAL USE AND CERTIFICATION OF EXISTING SYNTHETIC AND ENHANCED VISION SYSTEMS TECHNOLOGIES TO SERVE AS BUILDING BLOCKS TOWARD ALL-WEATHER, LOW VISIBILITY OPERATIONS FOR NEXTGEN. 2.0 SCOPE/OBJECTIVE: THIS TASK ORDER IS PART OF A COLLABORATIVE NASA AND FAA PROGRAM. THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS TASK ORDER IS TO CONDUCT A FLIGHT TEST ACTIVITY TO OBTAIN PILOT-IN-THE-LOOP OPERATIONAL TEST DATA USING SYNTHETIC AND ENHANCED VISION SYSTEMS. THE DATA FROM THIS FLIGHT TEST WILL BE USED BY THE GOVERNMENT FOR FLIGHT-VALIDATION /-VERIFICATION/-DEMONSTRATION OF SELECTED SYNTHETIC AND ENHANCED VISION OPERATIONAL AND SYSTEM-LEVEL PERFORMANCE TEST POINTS. THE FLIGHT TEST IS DESIGNED TO COMPLEMENT ANALYSIS AND GROUND SIMULATION ACTIVITIES BEING CONDUCTED BY NASA FOR RDT&E OF SYNTHETIC AND ENHANCED VISION SYSTEMS TECHNOLOGIES. THIS OVERALL PROGRAM OF ANALYSIS, GROUND SIMULATION, AND FLIGHT TEST MAY BE USED BY THE GOVERNMENT FOR EFFECTIVE DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF REGULATORY GUIDANCE AND PROCEDURES TO SUPPORT THE INTRODUCTION AND USE OF SYNTHETIC AND ENHANCED VISION SYSTEM TECHNOLOGIES IN CURRENT-DAY AND NEXTGEN OPERATIONS.