By Ann Roosevelt
BAE Systems just received a contract from the government for a small quantity of its new Q-Sight helmet displays for evaluation, according to a company official.
“They’re excited by the technology,” George Lim, business development director of Helmet Systems for BAE Systems, told Defense Daily at the Association of the U.S. Army Aviation conference in Arlington,Va., yesterday. The client can’t be disclosed as yet.
Additionally, the company is developing a version of the multi-function display platform for use in landing in low-visibility or brown out conditions.
“Q-Sight technology is what we call a revolutionary display technology,” Lim said. “What we take is conventional optical systems, miniaturize it, make it lighter and more flexible for pilots to wear.”
BAE’s patented technology uses holography techniques to move light using holographic waveguides, directly coupling the output of an LCD device to the small combining lens, elminating the need for intermediary lenses that can add weight and in some cases as well as distortion.
It has already been tested by the United States and United Kingdom.
It’s a quantum leap in technology, hence the “Q” in Q-Sight, Lim said.
Current operations see pilots in the air for six or seven hours, a long time to be wearing heavy displays.
“What we want to do is make sure it’s light enough and it’s balanced so the pilot can perform his mission without degrading physically,” he said. Q-Sight weighs about eight ounces. This provides maximum safety and comfort, minimizing eye and neck strain common on longer missions.
The miniaturized optics are mounted low on the helmet keeping the center of gravity low for better balance. Q-Sight can be mounted on either side of any standard helmet, depending on the pilot’s dominant eye..
A video at the BAE booth showed a head up navigation display in daylight conditions, as well as a simlar scene through night vision goggles. The transition from day to night heads up views is seamless.
The basic Q-sight is monocular, and once adjusted, doesn’t move. For night vision, a pilot simply flips the goggles down. The monocular stays in place, behind the night vision goggle, providing the symbology.
BAE also sees the potential for the Q-Sight family of helmet mounted displays for commercial aviation, Lim said. For example, a scaled up version could be used by commercial airlines, or even in commercial vehicles, displays that need not be worn to see the heads up display.
BAE has a history of helmet mounted display technology, including the first head up display introduced in 1960 and the first holographic head up display with wide field of view displays in the 1980s.