VIRTUAL REALITY TECHNOLOGY INCLUDING TRUE STEREO ! INTERACTIVE DISPLAYS FOR ASW AIRCRAFT ENVIRONMENTS

TRIDENT SYSTEM PROPOSES TO SUPPORT THE NAVY-S REQUIREMENT TO IDENTIFY INTERACTIVE/VIRTUAL REALITY DISPLAY TECHNOLOGIES FOR THE AIRBORNE ASW MISSION. CURRENT NAVY ASW DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY, INCLUDING HARDWARE, SOFTWARE, AND MAN-MACHINE INTERFACES (MMI), REQUIRES UPGRADING TO PREVENT OPERATOR OVERLOAD IN HIGH DATA RATE AND COMPLEX DATA/HIGH DISPLAY DENSITY SITUATIONS. MAJOR DEVELOPMENTS IN THE FIELD OF MMI AND VIRTUAL REALITY PROMISE TO SUPPLY THE TOOLS NECESSARY FOR ASW AIRCREWS TO ACCOMPLISH COMPLETE DATA EVALUATIONS ONSTATION IN REAL TIME. SUCH DISPLAY INTERFACE AND EVALUATION TOOLS CAN MEAN THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MISSION SUCCESS OR FAILURE. VIRTUAL REALITY TECHNOLOGIES AND OTHER FORMS OF DISPLAY INTERFACES SHOW SIGNIFICANT PROMISE IN IMPROVING THE FPC-S SITUATIONAL AWARENESS AND THE SIGNIFICANTLY ENHANCING THE ANALYTICAL TOOLS OF THE TACCO AND ASW OPERATOR. TO SUPPORT THIS REQUIREMENT, TRIDENT WILL: (1) DEFINE THE INTERFACE REQUIREMENTS NEEDED TO SUPPORT EACH GENERIC WORKSTATION IN THE AIRCRAFT, INCLUDING PFC, TACTICAL COORDINATOR, AND SENSOR OPERATOR; (2) IDENTIFY AND ASSESS THE VIRTUAL REALITY TECHNOLOGIES, PROVIDING A HIGH LEVEL SURVEY; (3) IDENTIFY THE POTENTIAL HIGH PAYOFF TECHNOLOGIES, MATCHING THE SURVEY OF THE TECHNOLOGY TO THE REQUIREMENTS GENERATED IN THE MISSION STUDY; AND (4) PROTOTYPE, TEST, AND EVALUATE A SELECTED TECHNOLOGY USING OFF-THE-SHELF HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE.