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'Wearable cockpit' concept for pilots becoming a reality

BAE Systems is working on a novel way for pilots to fly fighter jets. Researchers and engineers at the U.K.-based military and defense company are developing technologies to enable pilots to control the fighter jet of the future with the blink of an eye, creating a software-only cockpit that's upgradable, adaptable, and reconfigurable.

BAE Systems' specialist team of Human Factors engineers have been collaborating with pilots to better understand and anticipate their needs in this challenging environment. These insights are shaping the intuitive technologies the team is developing for the cockpit of the future.

BAE Systems future cockpit research. [All images copyright © 2018 BAE Systems]

 

 

One area the team is focusing on is technologies that enable pilots to control the cockpit in new ways.

Lead Technologist Jean Page explains, "In terms of future concepts, we are looking at what we are calling a 'wearable cockpit.' Here, you remove many of the physical elements of the cockpit and replace it with a virtual display, projected through the helmet. Essentially, it's a software-only cockpit that's upgradable, adaptable, and reconfigurable."

"In such a world, we need to think about what controls are critical to the pilot and then make them easier to manage," Page says. "Eye-tracking gives you the option of looking at something to highlight it and then making a gesture to 'press' a button, rather than having a series of physical buttons on the aircraft."

In cockpit design terms, simply understanding where a pilot is looking during a particular phase of a mission is hugely beneficial. For example, enhancing the effectiveness of warning signals so that the pilot is given the right cues and subsequently making it easier for him or her to react.

"The really clever bit will be that, based on where the pilot is looking, we can infer the pilot's goal and use intelligent systems to support task performance and reduce the pilot's workload," Page says. "We want to do it in a way that doesn't always ask for permission, because that would get very annoying very quickly, but equally, it is essential that it is always evident to the pilot what task the intelligent system is performing."

BAE Systems' Human Factors team demonstrated this approach in the future combat aircraft concept model called Tempest, which was unveiled for the first time at the 2018 Farnborough International Air Show. This concept model (developed by the U.K. Ministry of Defense, RAF, and industry partners including BAE Systems) seeks to illustrate how technologies such as eye tracking will shape the cockpit designs we expect to see in the combat air systems of the future.

Animation: BAE Systems Tempest concept.

The Tempest concept gives an indication of the types of technologies that BAE Systems and its partners are developing. According to BAE Systems, the system is likely to operate with kinetic and non-kinetic weapons. The integration of Laser Directed Energy Weapons for self-defense and use within visual range combat is also highly likely. The ability to deploy and manage air-launched "swarming" Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAV) through a flexible payload bay also allows the system to address dangerous Anti-Access Area Denial environments.

The cockpit evolution plan features a focus on touch-enabled large-screen displays by 2025 and a full virtual cockpit by 2025.

BAE says that "command and control of other systems, such as UAVs, will be enabled from a fully customizable virtual cockpit, with advanced human machine interfaces including eye tracking and gesture-based controls. Using a similar virtual approach, both mission planning on the ground and the remote command of unmanned aircraft can be enhanced, ensuring a rapid and effective understanding of the battlespace."

BAE also says that "physical interfaces must be strong, lightweight, numerous, and affordably produced. This will be achieved through our expertise in additive layer manufacture, joining and fastener technology, 'geometric locking,' and low observable materials. Robotic and cobotic assembly is likely to play a significant role."

Besides wearable displays, the Future Combat Air Systems (FCAS) plan also includes exoskeletons and computing combined to provide hands-free instructions, guidance, and access to technical publications.

"The use of artificial intelligence and data analytics in vehicle health and mission-related data will (also) improve aircraft availability as well as increase the mission success probability. Training costs could be significantly reduced using the virtual cockpit and virtual mission planning system as a result of their low cost, flexibility, and extreme portability," according to the company.

Source: BAE Systems

Published September 2018

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