Tactical Augmented-Reality Situational Awareness Head-Up Display

To address the Army’s need for a head-up display (HUD) for tactical vehicles, Intellisense Systems, Inc. proposes in Phase II to advance the new Tactical Augmented-Reality Situational Awareness Head-Up Display (TARAHUD) proven feasible in Phase I. The TARAHUD system is based on the innovation of tiling commercially available digital micromirror device (DMD) miniature projectors coupled to space-saving, highly efficient planar image combiner optics, and driven by a low-latency video parsing solution to produce a low size, weight, power, and cost (SWaP-C) form factor to satisfy the Army’s requirements of an affordable and technically compliant display solution. Through experimentation and modeling performed in Phase I, Intellisense has established a TARAHUD design that provides HD (2K×2K) resolution imagery by blending two 1080p projectors together, ~40° field of view with the projection optics, and a visual acuity comparable to 20/20 vision. In addition, the novel waveguide design with total internal reflections yields high light efficiency to enable high brightness for daytime operations. In Phase II, Intellisense will refine the design and fabricate a TARAHUD prototype to subsequently test its fit and performance in multiple military vehicles (such as HMMWV, Bradley, or Stryker), as well as investigate multi-capability functions and overlays such as speedometer and waypoint tracking. At the end of the Phase II effort, Intellisense will deliver a tested and robust prototype for field applications.