Night vision goggles (NVGs) allow the user to see in extremely low illumination levels but the visual information provided by NVGs has a limited field-of-view that diminishes handling-qualities in the night flying environment. Panoramic NVGs (PNVGs) were designed to correct this problem by providing a 100 degrees horizontal field-of-view which is larger than currently used NVGs. However, in the first generation PNVG, the improved field of view came at the cost of diminished resolution, contrast and central overlap area when compared to conventional NVGs. This paper describes an evaluation that was conducted in the variable stability NRC Bell-205 helicopter to examine the influence on system handling qualities of the PNVGs and a 46 degrees field-of-view UK NVG. Five pilots flew the ADS-33D hover, sidestep and pirouette manoeuvres in simulated night conditions with the UK NVG and the PNVGs. Both subjective and objective measures of task performance were obtained. Handling-qualities ratings showed the pirouette was performed better with the PNVGs. This was the only manoeuvre where there was a clear-cut handling qualities improvement when using the PNVGs. Other manoeuvres such as the sidestep and hover did not show definitive handling qualities rating differences between the two NVG types. The flight test results were interpreted in terms of the design trade-offs of the two night vision systems, with regard to the different acuity, binocular overlaps and fields-of-view.
Handling qualities comparison of panoramic night vision goggles and 46 degrees night vision goggles
2003
10 Seiten, 16 Quellen
Conference paper
English
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