Advanced Helmet Systems Umbilical Interface

The U S N currently has a need for a flexible, high bandwidth umbilical (Helmet Vehicle Interface, HVI) for helmet-mounted display and cueing systems. These systems are capable of being used for an ever increasing number of cockpit applications such as high definition displays, high resolution vision sensors, head/eye tracking systems, physiological monitoring technologies, and mission related requirements. As sensor and display capabilities are improved, the number of electrical signals needed to transcieve information increases, the density of the HVI assembly grows, resulting in an increase in cable diameter, stiffness and weight. This in turn affects the pilot's head movement and fatigue. We propose to convert most of the signal lines within the cable from conventional copper wire cables and electrical contacts to optical fiber and shuttered termini. The signal traffic may then be multiplexed in order to minimize the number of FO conductors. The HVI will contain the entire signal conditioning electronics needed to convert and multiplex the signals received by it, making it possible to retrofit some existing systems.