Helicopter Pilot Use of a See-Through,Head-Mounted Display with Pathway Guidance for Visually Guided Flight: Observations of Navigation Behavior and Obstacle Avoidance

Abstract

An exploratory study was conducted to evaluate synthetic imagery, presented in a binocular, stereoptic, head-mounted see-through display (HMD) for providing destination guidance and navigation data to helicopter pilots. The intended application was to Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS). Participants flew a simulator from an airfield to a remote, unimproved site to pick up an accident victim. Synthetic cues included approach and landing-zone signposts, highway-in-the-sky guidance for a 6-degree approach, approach direction lights, landing direction lights, and a synthetic helipad. Performance measures included destination visual acquisition time, transit time, obstacle avoidance, landing accuracy, and workload. Signposts allowed significantly shorter destination visual acquisition times. There were no significant differences in perceived workload. The baseline flights using the Global Positioning System (GPS) terminated further from the desired landing zone than flights using the HMD imagery. Successful visual avoidance of obstacles in the out-the-window view varied for different types of obstacles.