Staring Sensors for Pilot Situational Awareness

The Staring Sensor for Pilot Situational Awareness (SSPSA) design provides a future staring upgrade path for the AH-64E helicopter Pilot Night Vision Sensor (PNVS). The NewBridge PartnerÆs sensor design is a compact, 90░ x 90░ wide FOV optic combined with the Raytheon Vision SystemÆs Radian 3Kx3K high dynamic range, longwave infrared focal plane array. Three sensors integrate into a single camera assembly to produce the desired seamless, forward-looking 268░ x 90░ scene that fits into the same volume as the existing PNVS. A straightforward interface to standard heads-up displays allows the stitched scene to be windowed to the objective requirement of 30░ x 52░ for the pilot and copilot. The optics have extremely low distortion and are athermalized allowing full performance over the Apache operational temperature range without the need for active thermal control. Highly modular, high-performance, off-gimbal electronics read and process the focal plane data in real-time. The electronics register the focal planes to create the scene and drive the cockpit heads-up displays. The electronics solution uses state-of-the-art FPGA technology to minimize obsolescence and readily extend the capability to support other missions if desired. The predicted Targeting Task performance of the NewBridge SSPSA design, using the Army supplied NV-IPM tool, exceeds the goal requirements for both the 0.1K and 10K scene contrast temperatures. The new camera design enables a significant increase in the pilotage image quality in poor scene contrast conditions under environmental extremes, from a searing desert environment to frozen arctic conditions. For the SBIR Phase II effort of the SSPSA, NewBridge proposes to design, build, integrate, and demonstrate a camera assembly that meets the ArmyÆs technical objectives. The camera has a direct path towards an operational system. The build effort includes prototype optics and processing electronics designed together with three focal planes; effectively repackaging the focal planes and cryocoolers into a single assembly that fits into the current PNVS volume. As part of this effort, a demonstration of the miniaturized camera assembly will show that the three sensors work together to provide a hemispherical image. Seamless stitching of the three scenes provided by the focal planes is displayed simultaneously into two heads-up displays. The integrated sensor will be exercised in a series of ground and flight tests to demonstrate the utility of this revolutionary capability.