Scientists and Engineers in the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) are constantly asked what are the new
technologies and concepts that are being developed to significantly increase the warfighters capabilities. The warfighting
communities have different opinions and priorities based on their platform capabilities and operational requirements that
the Laboratory has to make trade-offs to maximize the payoff on investment for the Air Force operator community in
this tighter budget era. This paper will discuss the current state of helmet mounted displays in rotorcraft and fast jets as
well as the future technology advancements needed to increase warfighter productive and/or reduce life cycle costs.

Current and future helmet-mounted displays for piloted systems

The use of a helmet mounted display system in a fixed-wing fighter will, without no doubt, increase the capabilities of that aircraft. Basic requirement of a helmet system could be fulfilled with a simple austere Helmet Mounted Sight. With new, more advanced, Helmet Mounted Displays that have greater possibilities to display a wide variety of information great emphasis must be made on the analysis of that information. The question of what kind of information that should be displayed in a HMD is certainly not a trivial one. This paper discusses a novel approach of trying to compress a lot of information into few symbols. The goal is to have a decluttered HMD and yet give the pilot superior situation awareness.

Anders Borgvall

Papers

Discussion of a new type of HMD symbology