Electro-Optic and Infrared Situational Awareness Display

To address a Navy need for a high resolution full color situational awareness displays to optimize human interface for Navy personnel, ships, and crafts, Hitron Technologies Inc. proposes to develop a see-through full color transparent flexible display with collaboration of Liquid Crystal Institute of Kent State University. The transparent flexible display is based on innovative integration of a few mature and emerging technologies including polymer stabilized cholesteric texture (PSCT), waveguide display, time sequential color LED lighting, and a tunable micro-lens array (t-MLA). The display can be easily attached to the aircraft cockpit, vehicle windshield, or designed in a helmet form for information display. In Phase-I, a proof-of-concept display sample will be developed and fully tested to demonstrate the feasibility of the technology. In Phase-II, a product-level transparent flexible display will be developed with optimization of the materials and fabrication process, with a version upgrade through design and fabrication of t-MLA and synchronizing driving signals between TF-PSCT panel and t-MLA. A helmet display prototype will be developed for further commercialization of this technology.