Rugged Eye Tracker for the Fighter Jet Pilot

This SBIR Phase I project will investigate the utility of a proprietary rugged eye tracker design developed at Optical Physics Company (OPC) for the fighter jet pilot. Aggressive maneuvers of the jet result in both buffeting as well as substantial G loading. The OPC eye tracker remains immune to shaking because it uses the reflection from the cornea and thus continues to operate when most standard commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) eye trackers that track reflections from inside the eye and through the pupil fail. High G loading effects are reduced by using a single illuminator and dual sensor geometry, Expected total weight of the eye tracker is less than 10 grams, with total volume smaller than 1 cubic inches. The bandwidth of 100-200 Hz can easily be accomplished. Boeing Phantom Works has agreed to be the subcontractor during the Phase I effort. The OPC team will analyze and experimentally anchor the performance of the eye tracker while Boeing provides assistance in specifying the Phase II prototype and planning for Phase II laboratory and field tests.