Head Worn Display (HWD) Augmented Reality for Military Training Applications

The ideal augmented-reality (AR) head-worn display (HWD) for training purposes would be one that offers a panoramic see-through of the surrounding environment overlaid with high-resolution color imagery. Such a system should also be unobtrusive; that is, compact, light-weight, and comfortable, where comfort comes from having a generous exit pupil, liberal eye relief, ergonomic center of mass, and focus at infinity. Conventional refractive optics cannot satisfy this suite of demanding requirements. Even after years of highly competitive development, head-mounted and head-worn displays exhibit limited field of view and are anything but compact, light-weight, and comfortable. SGB Labs has developed a game-changing solution to this challenging problem and has successfully demonstrated the feasibility of developing a full-color, wide-field-of-view, see-through display with an angular resolution exceeding the visual acuity limit of the human eye. The goal of the proposed project is to demonstrate the technical feasibility of designing an affordable, rugged, head-worn display (HWD) ideally suited for Navy AR applications, such as training forward observers. More specifically, in Phase I we hope to demonstrate that our technical solution is compatible with standard issue helmets. If successful, the Phase-I option will seek to further increase field of view and reduce power requirements.