Aviators Night Vision Augmented Display

Safety in military aviation depends heavily on the pilot’s ability to see and avoid traffic, obstacles and terrain. Night vision goggles are used by pilots to perform operations in low light conditions and are essential to the safety and performance of the aircraft. However, pilots are unable to view key aircraft performance parameters often shown on instrument displays, which are too bright for the goggles.The design subtly introduces critical flight information within the pilot’s field of view with an augmented display system, an avionics software package, a non-intrusive mounting unit, and a power system. A lightweight optical housing was developed and is mounted to the pilot’s helmet, allowing easy connection to vehicle power systems without introducing discomfort for the user. The software package was developed for easy implementation on a readily available lightweight computer, while human factors considerations were at the heart of each graphical design choice. System requirements were validated based on testing and modeling, to military specifications, for vibration, heat, acceleration, data transfer and electromagnetic interference.