Exelis Inc.

Thomas Douglas Burton

James Hoge Bowen

Kevin Patrick Hines

David B Kaplan

Provided is an apparatus which includes a near-to-eye display, a microcontroller, a hot shoe interface with an external port configured to communicate with an external mounting device for the near-to-eye-display, a hot shoe interface line between the external port and the microcontroller, and a communication line between the external port and the microcontroller. The communication line is configured to share at least a portion of the hot shoe interface line, and is also configured to transmit and receive external communications through the external port. The microcontroller is configured to activate and inactivate transmission over the communication line in response to predetermined signals received over the communication line within a first predetermined time period of at least one of the near-to-eye display being powered-on or the mounting device transitioning from one of an active orientation or a stowed orientation to the other.

Near-to-eye display hot shoe communication line

A brightness tracking system for an optical device includes a first imager for viewing a target of interest, a second imager for viewing the same target of interest, and a photodiode circuit. The photodiode circuit (a) measures brightness levels of the target of interest received from the first imager, and (b) controls output brightness of the second imager, based on the measured brightness levels received from the first imager.

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Christiansburg, VA, United States of America

Thomas Douglas Burton