Helmet-Mounted Displays: - USAARL - The - U.S. Army

FOREWORD
Now the Army is combining the tactics of General Patton
with the technology of [DoD acquisition reformer] David
Packard and [computer software mogul] Bill Gates to give
commanders the tools for victory. They’re going to be
able to locate the enemy, day or night, and strike with
swift and decisive force.
William S. Cohen, Secretary of Defense
March 1998
The incorporation of technology into aviation over the years has been
exponential. A comparison between the Wright brother’s original bi-plane
and the F-117A fighter flown in the Desert storm almost defies
comprehension. Advancements in microelectronics, stealth technology,
engine design, and electronic sensors and displays have converted simple
aircraft into formidable flying machines. And, these advancements have
been applied to rotary-wing, as well as, fixed-wing aircraft.
In order for U.S. Army aviation to extend its mission capability from
daytime to nighttime, operation imaging sensor technologies have been
implemented. In the 1990's the Army adopted Night Vision Goggles based
on 2 nd generation image intensification (I 2 ) tubes. Such devices are based
on light amplification. Over the next 25 years, 3 rd generation I 2 tubes
(Aviator’s Night Vision Imaging System - ANVIS) and other advancements
have resulted in well over a million hours of extended night capability.
Another imaging sensor technology is forward looking infrared (FLIR).
Based on temperature differences, FLIR is used on the Army’s AH-64
Apache helicopter to provide both pilotage and targeting imagery. This
imagery is presented on the Integrated Helmet and Display Sighting System
(IHADSS), a monocular helmet-mounted display (HMD). This trend for
increased use of HMDs continues with the design of a binocular HMD
(Helmet Integrated Display Sight System - HIDSS) for the RAH-66
Comanche, currently under development.
In addition to sensor technology advancement, there has been a
tremendous effort towards the development of newer display technologies.
For centuries, paper was the dominating method of information
presentation. In the 1950's, the cathode ray tube (CRT) used in TV sets
xi