Voice/Head Input Controller (VHIC) for Maintenance Systems

SYTRONICS and subcontractor UDRI propose to apply significant experience and familiarity with the warfighter's needs in aircraft maintenance to the problem of having hands-free control of wearable computers so that they may access technical data easily andeffectively. We will develop an operation prototype that is an innovative combination of head-tracking and speech recognition for effective and intuitive interfacing to be used by subject matter experts to evaluate the utility of the system. A simpletwo-controller approach uses voice for text-and-click entry and head movement, as well as speech, for pointing. A dampered throat microphone filters noise and a simple inertial tracker provides cursor movement. Our Phase II objectives will be to (1)Refine and Document Voice-Head Input Controller (VHIC) Requirements and Build the Prototype, (2) Demonstrate Final VHIC Configuration, and (3) Commercialize the VHIC System. Our Phase II products will be: (1) A VHIC prototype, (2) A commercialized productspecification, and (3) A final report.