Pocket-size Augmented Reality System for Flight Control

Abstract

Head-up displays (HUDs) have become common equipment in aircraft cockpits. One of the uses of HUDs is to provide a specific visual interface for pilots in the form of what is called a "tunnel-in-the-sky" (i.e. 3D geometry for the navigation path displayed on a flat screen). According to recent studies the "tunnel-in-the-sky" approach does not provide crucial advantages in comparison with more traditional methods of presenting navigation information to pilots. This paper considers a stereoscopic version of the 3D "tunnel-in-the-sky" realized as an augmented reality (AR) pocket-size system with see-through light-weight AR glasses. The system consists of low-cost items and does not suffer from the drawbacks tied with existing synthetic/enhanced vision systems for pilots. The design of experiments with desktop simulators of different AR pilot's interfaces (2D, 3D and stereo 3D conditions) and their results are described. The results of the experiments prove the effectiveness of the proposed stereo AR solution. Flight test of the prototype of the proposed AR system carried out on Cessna 172 aircraft is also described.