PILOT LOSS OF CONCIOUSNESS (PLOC) ALARM DEVELOPMENT

THIS PROJECT IS DESIGNED TO INVESTIGATE A NEW TECHNOLOGY FOR MONITORING PILOT LOSS OF CONSCIOUSNESS (PLOC). A PLOC ALARM SYSTEM WILL BE DEVELOPED TO THE STAGE OF ENGINEERING MODELS WHICH CAN BE MOUNTED IN A PILOT'S HELMET SUITABLE FOR SYSTEM DEMONSTRATION. THE APPROACH COMBINES OFF-THE-SHELF COMPONENTS INCLUDING AN IR REFLECTIVE TRANSDUCER, A SINGLE CHIP MICRO-COMPUTER AND AN AUDIBLE ALARM TO PRODUCE A LOW COST, MINIATURIZED SYSTEM FOR MONITORING THE EYELID MOVEMENTS OF A PILOT. THE PROPOSED SYSTEM INCLUDES SUFFICIENT INTELLIGECE TO DETERMINE LOSS OF CONSCIOUSNESS AND TO GENERATE AUDIBLEALARMS. A SELF TEST MODE INFORMS THE PILOT THAT THE PLOC ALARM IS WORKING PROPERLY WHEN IT IS INITIALLY ACTIVIATED, AND DIAFOSTIC FIRMWARE RESULTS IN SPECIAL ALARMS IF A TRANSDUCER FAILURE IS DETECTED. A LACK OF EYELID MOVEMENT OVER A TWENTY SECOND PERIOD WILL RESULT IN AN AUDIBLE PLOC ALARM WHICH WILL EITHER TERMINATE ON A SUBSEQUENT BLINK EVENT OR INCREASE IN INTENSITY IF NO SUBSEQUENT MOVEMENTS ARE DETECTED. THE PRIMARY OBJECTIVES OF THE PROJECT ARE TO DEVELOP EXPERIMENTAL HARDWARE FOR SELECTING THE OPTIMAL TRANSDUCER, SENSOR GEOMETRY AND HELMET CONFIGURATION. BASED ON EXPERIMENTATION AND LABORATORY TESTING, OPTIMIZED ENGINEER MODELS WILL BE PRODUCED FOR USER TESTING.