Holographic Brownout Condition Adaptive Symbology System for Day/Night HMDs

To address the Navy need for an integrated day/night helmet-mounted display (HMD) system that delivers symbology during brownout conditions, Physical Optics Corporation (POC) developed in Phase I a new Holographic Brownout Condition Adaptive Symbology (HOBCAS) system for day/night HMDs. This HOBCAS is based on a unique combination of narrow-band 3-color (RGB) high see-through holographic optics, OLED microdisplays, and symbology imagery display. The innovations in HOBCAS enable the system to adapt to ambient conditions and allow for a quick clip-on to HMD and night vision goggles (NVGs) with independently controllable symbology imagery and functionality using existing helmet mounts. In Phase I, POC demonstrated the feasibility of HOBCAS system by designing a breadboard prototype demonstrating see-through, holographic beam combination, and symbol rendering capabilities based on COTS embedded processer development board, microdisplays, flightstick, triband ambient light sensor, and OpenGL-rendered symbology. POC also developed a mechanical means for a clip-on solution to switching from day to night HMDs. In Phase II, POC plans to develop a mature prototype with high contrast, high brightness symbology for day/night applications such as a workstation/simulation environment; and integrate and demonstrate the HOBCAS prototype with suitably lighted backgrounds for day, night, and degraded visual environments.