Best of What's New 2007


Aviation & Space
Vision Systems International Helmet-Mounted Display

SUPER-VISION FOR FIGHTER PILOTS

Head-up displays are great as long as you’re looking straight ahead. Instead, pilots of the F-35 Lightning II, the U.S. military’s newest fighter plane, read targeting and flight data right inside their helmet. The Helmet-Mounted Display System, first flight-tested in April, uses sensors outside the plane to let the pilot see enemy jets, even if he’s looking down at the cockpit floor or at the instrument panel. A magnetic head-tracking system supplemented by a cockpit camera keeps track of the pilot’s head movements—that helps him select targets with three times the accuracy of previous systems. High-resolution LCDs fed with images from exterior infrared cameras provide binocular night vision without bulky goggles. And with its carbon-fiber shell, the helmet weighs only about four pounds. vsi-hmcs.com


  
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