USA As Represented by Secretary of the Navy

Denis R Breglia

Alfred H Rodemann

Frank J Oharek

George Derderian

Windell N Mohon

Paul D Grimmer

John H Allen

Archer M Spooner

Gottfried R Rosendahl

Joseph Portoghese

Robert J Entwistle

David T Long

Benjamin W Patz

Richard C Hebb

Daniel R Lobb

A helmet mounted eye tracker is disclosed for monitoring the position of cornea of a human eye which includes an infrared light source for projecting a pulsed infrared light beam along a first optical path, a mirror for redirecting the pulsed infrared light beam along a second optical path, and a beam splitter for redirecting the pulsed infrared light beam onto the cornea of the eye such that within the eye a virtual image is formed which changes position with movement of the cornea of the eye. The virtual image formed within the eye is then redirected along the second optical path by the beam splitter to the mirror which, in turn, redirects the virtual image to a collecting lens positioned along the first optical path. The collecting lens will then focus the virtual image upon the active area of an infrared light detector which will provide at its output square wave signals indicative of the X and Y coordinate positions of the cornea of the eye within the active area of the infrared light detector.

Helmet mounted eye tracker using a position sensing detector

Distortion occurring when tan .theta. mapped CIG video is projected onto a ide angle non-tan .theta. display is corrected in both line direction and cross-line direction by varying the propagation time of the pixels within a line to achieve a non-distorted line and by buffering the lines of the display to allow for selective fetching of lines for display in a non-distorted manner. Both pixels and lines are delayed by variable amounts in accordance with their temporal location within a line or frame, respectively.

CIG Distortion correction with delay lines

A compensation system for use in a helmet mounted raster projection system tilizes a microprocessor to control the offset position of the raster line and frame scanners, thereby increasing the stability of the viewed scene. The microprocessor calculates control words which are fed to the scanners via digital to analog converters during the vertical sync of the raster scan. The microprocessor calculates the control words from pilot look data obtained by head and eye trackers compared to previous similar data.

Raster shifting delay compensation system

A head position and orientation sensor system utilizes a head mounted protor of known scan pattern which presents a visual display to the observer. In order to maintain proper display orientation, the head position and orientation are measured by intercepting the projected light scan pattern at a retroreflective screen upon which the visual display is focused. A photodetector array mounted in said screen intercepts the visual display regardless of head orientation and position. A computational unit having knowledge of the scan pattern parameters correlates the photodetector array output to a unique head position and orientation.

Head position and orientation sensor

A helmet mounted projector provides offset and frame scanning capabilities or a dual channel computer generated image simulation system. The projector receives full color lasers from each channel via a separate optical path, including galvanometer controlled line scan offset mirrors designed to provide eye tracking capabilities, and combines said channels along a single optical axis to provide coordinated frame scanning from the complex image produced by the combined rasters.

Helmet mounted display projector

An articulated light guide having internal mirrors and rotatable joints, vides a transmission path to a helmet mounted projector wherefrom light is transmitted onto a retroreflective screen to produce images utilized in simulation training. Located at the screen are photodiodes which detect the orientation of said images with respect to a reference and provide alignment signals to a servo-controlled image rotation device.

Articulated light guide

A wide angle infinity display system to be utilized by a trainee pilot for bserving a visual scene displayed upon a retroreflective screen. The system includes a helmet adapted to be worn by the trainee pilot, image producing means for generating visual information, image forming means mounted upon the helmet for projecting the visual information onto the retroreflective screen so as to form the visual scene observed by the trainee pilot, and communicating means for transmitting the visual information from the image producing means to the image forming means. Position monitoring means coupled to the helmet sense angular movement of the head of the trainee pilot, and the visual scene is changed correspondingly, to permit scanning of a wide angle field of view.

Wide angle infinity display system

A method and apparatus for the holographic storage of terrain data on a hgraphic recording material. The holographic storage apparatus includes a camera, positioned above a terrain surface, for recording on a photographic film a plurality of photographic images of a matrix of perspective points of a terrain surface. A laser gives rise to an object laser light beam which is directed onto, and is reflected from, the photographic film; and, a reference laser light beam which is directed onto the holographic recording material. An object transform lens directs the reflected object laser light beam onto the holographic recording material to form, when combined with the reference laser light beam, a plurality of holograms, with each of the holograms based on a photograph taken from one of the matrix of perspective points above the terrain surface.

Holographic storage of terrain data

A holographic terrain surface display system for simulating the visual scs available to a trainee pilot with respect to a terrain surface. The holographic terrain surface display system according to the present invention comprises a holographic film, having a plurality of holograms, illuminated by a laser light beam. The laser light beam is focused on one of the plurality of holograms to generate a real image of the terrain surface. The real image of the terrain surface is then projected onto a spherical front projection screen to be observed by the trainee pilot, at a remote location, through a closed circuit television system.

Holographic terrain surface display system

A retroreflector evaluation system is disclosed as incorporating a laser and a plurality of laser light processing optical elements associated therewith in such manner as will permit the making of reflectance measurements at any or all points on the surface of retroreflective or other reflective samples or devices, thereby providing an indication of the intensity, uniformity, and other reflectance characteristics which determine the quality thereof.

Retroreflectance measurement system

A stabilized viewing system is disclosed as having a telescope for viewing n object by an observer when the object is remotely located from the observer, a camera for timely photographing a succession of pictures of the object on a film that is processed immediately prior to exposure of the object of the film by a processing fluid which causes a positive image to be produced on the film after exposure of the object on the film which may be viewed by the observer immediately thereafter, a unique movable linkage-type servomechanism connected between the telescope and the camera for enabling one or the other to be selected as desired by the observer, in order that he may either view the object directly or the filmed image thereof, and a magnifying eyepiece disposed in such manner with respect to the telescope and the film of the camera that either one or the other may be observed in magnified form.

Stabilized scene viewing system

A laser type direct fire weapon simulator for action against a moving image isplay wherein the weapon is slaved connected to variable voltage producing devices such as potentiometers to provide voltage outputs corresponding to azimuth and elevation positions of the weapon, a voltage responsive beam deflector system for varying the direction of the laser beam on the display target in accordance with the azimuth and elevation voltages, a continuous reading delay monitor responsive to a delay voltage derived from the elevation voltage to provide prior time readout voltage data to an electro-optical system directing the laser beam such that when actuated the system shows the location where a missile would have hit allowing for delay time corresponding to elevation voltage, together with a delay trigger circuit which delays the display of the hit until the elapse of missile flight time corresponding again to elevation voltage and hence range. The invention further contemplates adder circuits and instructor adjustable voltage input sources to vary the azimuth and elevation inputs to the electro-optical system corresponding to selected v-parallax and ballistic data.

Direct fire weapon trainer incorporating hit and data delay responses

Apparatus and method for the visual display of an object, such as an aircraft, at continuously variable attitudes comprising two hologram films of the object made in wrap-around 360.degree. fashion on axes through the object and normal to each other to store object images comprising a complete spherical view of the object and the provision of scanners, a laser beam source, reflectors and an instructor's control panel of amplifiers and switching circuits to direct the laser beam to the film having the view desired and at an xy address on the film at which the desired view is located and a display screen for viewing the selected image or series of continuously variable images.

Holographic object recognition trainer

A weapons training simulator in which a multilayer composite movie film fed of a normal film for projecting a non-polarized image of target and background and a polarized film for projecting a polarized target image is utilized in a projector to project the polarized and non-polarized images on a non-depolarizing screen and in which a weapons mounted polarized light sensor circuit is provided to indicate target hit or miss as the weapon is aimed and fired. The invention also contemplates intentional non-registration of the normal and polarized films by a number of frames selected to represent the correct target lead to properly hit the moving target.

Growing community of inventors

Altamonte Springs, FL, United States of America

Denis R Breglia