Multisensory Integration for Pilot Spatial Orientation

The US military, US civilian, allied military, and friendly nation pilots all stand to benefit from improvements to understanding spatial disorientation (SD) and to applying appropriate countermeasures that reduce SD-caused mishaps. SD kills many pilots every year and has the enormous costs associated with lives lost, aircraft destroyed, property damage, and loss of mission capabilities. Developing Micro Analysis and Design's (MA&D's) intelligent SD Aiding System for the cockpit is one part of a comprehensive approach to reducing the unacceptable costs of SD. The proposed SD Aiding System is based upon the latest research into human physiology - reflected in its models of various SD illusions - as well as the most advanced pilot workload metrics and multisensory display technologies: head-down, head-up, and helmet-mounted visual displays and symbology; auditory cues and recovery commands; tactile cues; and, olfactory cues. As part of a comprehensive approach, MA&D's SD Aiding System must also apply auto-recovery maneuvers, and, where absolutely necessary to save the pilot's life (e.g., when the aircraft is damaged and cannot recover), auto-ejection. A fully comprehensive solution includes pilot selection, training, mission briefings and debriefings, and post-flight data analyses to feedback the lessons learned about effective and ineffective preventative measures or countermeasures.