NASA Logo

NTRS

NTRS - NASA Technical Reports Server

Back to Results
Helmet-Mounted Display Research Capabilities of the NASA/Army Rotorcraft Aircrew Systems Concepts Airborne Laboratory (RASCAL)The Rotorcraft Aircrew Systems Concepts Airborne Laboratory (RASCAL) is a UH-60A Black Hawk helicopter that is being modified by the US Army and NASA for flight systems research. The principal systems that are being installed in the aircraft are a Helmet Mounted Display (HMD) and imaging system, and a programmable full authority Research Flight Control System (RFCS). In addition, comprehensive instrumentation of both the rigid body of the helicopter and the rotor system is provided. The paper will describe the capabilities of these systems and their current state of development. A brief description of initial research applications is included. The wide (40 X 60 degree) field-of-view HMD system has been provided by Kaiser Electronics. It can be configured as a monochromatic system for use in bright daylight conditions, a two color system for darker ambients, or a full color system for use in night viewing conditions. Color imagery is achieved using field sequential video and a mechanical color wheel. In addition to the color symbology, high resolution computer-gene rated imagery from an onboard Silicon Graphics Reality Engine Onyx processor is available for research in virtual reality applications. This synthetic imagery can also be merged with real world video from a variety of imaging systems that can be installed easily on the front of the helicopter. These sensors include infrared or tv cameras, or potentially small millimeter wave radars. The Research Flight Control System is being developed for the aircraft by a team of contractors led by Boeing Helicopters. It consists of a full authority high bandwidth fly-by-wire actuators that drive the main rotor swashplate actuators and the tail rotor actuator in parallel. This arrangement allows the basic mechanical flight control system of the Black Hawk to be retained so that the safety pilot can monitor the operation of the system through the action of his own controls. The evaluation pilot will signal the fly-by-wire actuators through the flight computer from electrical sidearm controllers located in the right hand cockpit. The system will have very substantial input/output capacity and impressive computational power. These systems are installed in the aircraft using predominantly a MIL-STD 1553B data bus architecture. Sensor data from the RFCS, the basic aircraft and rotor system instrumentation including navigation information, and the HMD system are easily exchanged among user systems, or are available at the systems operator station located in the cabin for real time monitoring or data recording.
Document ID
20020022295
Acquisition Source
Ames Research Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Jacobsen, R. A.
(NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA United States)
Bivens, C. C.
(NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA United States)
Rediess, N. A.
(NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA United States)
Hindson, W. S.
(NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA United States)
Aiken, E. W.
(NASA Ames Research Center Moffett Field, CA United States)
Aiken, Edwin W.
Date Acquired
August 20, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 1995
Subject Category
Avionics And Aircraft Instrumentation
Meeting Information
Meeting: AeroSense (SPIE Symposium)
Location: Orlando, FL
Country: United States
Start Date: April 17, 1995
End Date: April 21, 1995
Sponsors: International Society for Optical Engineering
Funding Number(s)
PROJECT: RTOP 505-59-36
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

Available Downloads

There are no available downloads for this record.
No Preview Available