Sextant Avionique is experimenting with a three-dimensional (3-D) sound system incorporated into a helmet-mounted display (HMD) to improve threat localisation.
Tests are being carried out at Sextant's Bordeaux plant in co-operation with the US Department of Defense, using six pilots from each country's air force. If successful, a further series of test is planned for the USA.
The aim is to improve the awareness of threats while a fighter or helicopter pilot is operating in intense combat conditions. "We have demonstrated a significant reduction in the response time for targeting and releasing weapons", says Sextant HMD project manager Philip Beck.
A Sextant binocular helmet with 40o x 30o degree field-of-view is being used, with a visor-projected image providing a monochromatic "semi-virtual" image of a nighttime battlefield scene. This is slaved to the movements of side stick and throttle controls mounted in a fixed-base simulator cockpit.
The pilot flies manually at a simulated 6,000ft (1,800m)/ 500kt (920km/h), and is given sound cues as to the whereabouts of airborne or ground-based threats. Different sound combinations are used to differentiate between the threat type, the system operating with threats up to 8km (4nm) distant. The pilot looks in the general direction indicated by the sound, and is then given a visual cue of an arrow pointing at the target.
Sextant says that the system still needs development, but adds that "laboratory experiments and some flight evaluations have tested the validity of the concept". If trials continue successfully, the system, says Beck, may be offered for current HMD-equipped aircraft, such as the Dassault Rafale, or Eurocopter Tiger.
Source: Flight International
