Immersive Parachute Descent Procedure, Malfunction and Decision-Making Training System

Parachuting is the primary method for the pilot and aircrew to escape when unrecoverable emergencies occur. However, the aviators, in most cases, have no parachuting experience prior to emergency egress. To ensure their safety and prepare them for extreme circumstances, they must be trained to handle such situations. Currently, PARASIM, a virtual reality parachute simulator developed by Systems Technology Inc. (STI), provides such training. In this Topic, the Navy has identified enhancements to the current training that include:Seamless interfacing with real flight equipment across all Navy platformsComplete ejection and bailout training from under canopy to landingIntegration of visual environment and physical flight equipmentAfter action review (AAR) to include procedure checklist and cause-effect analysis of the decisions in the descending process.STI proposes to develop an Immersive Parachute Descent Trainer (IPDT), a low-cost, robust solution to address the desired training needs, interfacing with standard flight equipment across all Navy platforms. This concept builds upon STIs parachute simulation expertise and leverages STIs patented Fused Reality technology, combining live real-world video with the virtual environment, and enabling the trainee to wear, see, and interact with standard flight equipment during the real-time, interactive parachute simulation.