Low Cost Wide Field of View Head Mounted Display for Aviation Training

The goal of this proposal is to illustrate a low-cost, wide field-of-view display for out-the-window simulation to be used in the reconfigurable AVCATT system. NVIS is proposing a hybrid display technology that utilizes projection optics in a head-mounted configuration, referred to as a Head-Mounted Projective Display, or HMPD. The HMPD is a lightweight display that projects images onto a thin retro-reflective screen that can be placed virtually anywhere in the surrounding environment. Images are reflected back towards the user, independent of the viewing angle between the screen and the user. Unlike most head-mounted displays, the HMPD is inherently see-through, with the augmented images only appearing where the retro-reflective screen is present, such as on a physical window or opening. This provides the user with the correct cutoff between the real environment and the OTW scene. All other areas of the physical environment will be visible through the display optics. This will allow users to operate the vehicle controls that would be instrumented to the deployed image generator. The focus of the proposed Phase 1 research will be to optimize the HMPD concept to support the specific design objectives for the AVCATT training system, particularly a wide field-of-view for out-the-window simulation.