Advanced Head-Mounting Flight Environmental Device for Night Vision Goggles

In response to the Air Force need for a novel lightweight, durable head-mounting device to use night vision goggles (NVGs) without a bulky helmet, POC proposes in Phase II to continue developing the Advanced Head-Mounting flight Environmental Device (AHMED) for the NVG based on a new head harness design that has been proven feasible in Phase I to fit 99% of the population.  The AHMED features a capless conformal strap under the chin of the flight crew (such as refueling tanker boom operators) who do not wear helmets.  In Phase I, POC fabricated and tested several generations of AHMED prototypes consisting of rigid and flexible length-adjustable segments and ANVIS device-compatible connector.  We confirmed the capability of providing minimal force and hot spots on the head, balanced center of gravity, and minimal fatigue on the neck.  In Phase II, POC will finalize AHMED design, build prototype devices reaching TRL 5, and conduct an evaluation on individuals of a wide anthropometric variation range to ascertain the proper fit and identify any potential force concentrations on the head and any neck fatigue issues.  Stability of the NVG devices and fatigue due to balance will be verified on individuals in simulated work conditions. BENEFIT: The AHMED system will benefit military users with its reduced weight and comfortable fit to the personnel who do not wear helmets.  It can be directly applied to the Air Forces NVG mounting and NVG night-vision training programs.  The AHMED can be incorporated by the U.S. Air Force/Navy/Army into other NVG and helmet-mounted display-based immersive and nonimmersive flight simulators and other training simulators, which will benefit from this proposed technology.  Additionally, military-related applications can be found in a fairly broad spectrum of end user communities that include the police and sheriff departments, SWAT teams at the state, federal, and local levels, U.S. Border Patrol, law enforcement training academies, military police, game wardens, the FBI, DEA, U.S. Coast Guard, and search-and-rescue operations.  AHMED will also have civilian applications such as head-mounting devices for NVG and HMD by hobbyists, hunters, gamers, private investigators, and private security firms.