Vision Processor for Helmet System (VPHS)

ABSTRACT: 5-D Systems (5-D) has developed a concept for a state-of-the-art Vision Processor for Helmet Systems (VPHS) that will provide significant performance improvements over currently deployed systems. Our concept will achieve the government"s performance requirements and address the two most challenging technical issues for practical helmet-mounted displays (HMD) - power consumption and weight. Our concept will allow multiple, high data rate video sources to be combined and pre-processed for presentation to pilots via a high resolution HMD. 5-D"s unique approach uses pipelined, distributed processing spread across multiple FPGA/processor chips mounted to a semi-flexible circuit board. This approach minimizes the overall power consumption of the processing system relative to a monolithic, single-core design and creates a lightweight, physical form factor that is ideal for both internal and external helmet mounting. In Phase I, 5-D will develop a plan to design and fabricate a VPHS based on our approach and will analyze the performance of our initial design. 5-D"s key personnel will apply their extensive experience developing high-speed data processors using cutting-edge FPGA and microprocessor technology to achieve the Phase I objectives. BENEFIT: Our VPHS will provide the performance necessary to realize next generation HMD systems while maintaining a minimal footprint and power requirements. The performance achievable with our design will enable ultra high resolution systems employing multiple high resolution sensors and microdisplays. The potential applications for this technology expand beyond military HMDs into the commercial markets for simulators and training, to the medical field for remote diagnosis, and even into the high end gaming market.