Smart Automatic Jettisoning Device for HMDS

Current Helmet Mounted Display Systems (HMDS) are mounted to aircrew members helmets to improve performance by providing night vision enhancement, by enabling look-and-shoot weapons cueing systems, and by providing continuous aircraft information to the crewmember. The added weight and resulting center of gravity shift of these systems can increase the probability of injury to the crewmember in the event of ejection or crash landing. The additional surface area of the HMDS can also increase aerodynamic loading during ejection which also results in an increase to the probability of injury.  Creation of simple force/acceleration HMDS release systems have been developed and tested, but these systems have been unacceptable since helmet accelerations encountered during air combat maneuvers (ACM) can be near or can exceed the peak accelerations encountered during ejections.  A need for a better solution exists. Midé proposes to develop a SMA based system to reliably release the HMDS only during crash and ejection scenarios.  The challenge is to discern between normal aircraft maneuvers and a crash or ejection event.  In order to accomplish this, Midé plans to utilize its piezoelectric based sensors calibrated in a manner where this differentiation can take place.   BENEFIT: Potential military applications of this technology could benefit users of night vision goggles (including ANVIS-9, PNVG, and the developmental NVCD) and other modern display systems (i.e., JHMCS, JSF).  In the commercial sector, this technology could be used for items like auto binder releases on skis/snowboards and possibly as a real-time warning system if an athlete is likely to suffer from concussions/injuries due to impact in contact sports.