ADVANCED DISPLAYS FOR DISMOUNTED WARFIGHTERS 21-22 SEPTEMBER 2010

ADVANCED DISPLAYS FOR DISMOUNTED WARFIGHTERS

21-22 SEPTEMBER 2010

UNCLASSIFIED

UNCLASSIFIED

Outline

• Introduction• Types of Advanced Displays• Current Displays and Lessons Learned• Occluded Helmet Mounted Displays

• Head Mounted Displays• Fused Night Vision Goggles

• Conformational Displays• Tactile Displays • Flex Displays

• See-through Helmet Mounted Displays• Augmented reality displays and Enhanced Cognition

• Conclusions

Introduction

The purposes for using displays are:• to present or hold up to view

• to provide information or graphics on a screen

• to provide a representation of information

x+3=5

X=2

Now just a minute, earlier

you said x equals 4!

Introduction

The purpose of advanced displays is to immerse warfighters in the operation so they can experience and convey critical information from real-time data feeds in an intuitive, recognition-based manner.

Multifunction Displays (MFDs)Definition- a display surface which, through

hardware or software, is capable of displaying information from multiple sources, in several different reference frames. It may display different groups of data one at a time or in a

combined fashion.

Introduction

Multifunction, not multiple displays

Types of Advanced Displays

HMDs

Fused NVGs

Tactile Displays

Notebooks

PDAs

Flexible Displays

GMDs

Augmented Reality

Displays

Headmounted Body-worn or Carried

Occluded See-throughFormed Configurable

http://www.army-technology.com/projects/land_warrior/index.html#land_warrior6

Color Helmet

Mounted Display

FBCB2

The Soldier is the most difficult “combat platform” to interface with!

One Size never fits all

Soldiers have different opinions

Soldier Acceptability is critical

Current Systems

AN/PVS-14 NVG

Current Displays and Lessons Learned

Introduction

The Future – Nett Warrior

All BCTs

Navigation Module

Battery

GPS Antenna

Computer

Helmet MountedDisplay

Headset & Mic

Soldier Control Unit

Soldier Radio/

Antenna

Navigation Module

Battery

GPS Antenna

Computer

Helmet MountedDisplay

Headset & Mic

Soldier Control Unit

Soldier Radio/

Antenna

Land Warrior

2005

Land Warrior

“Manchu”

2007

Land Warrior

“Strike”

2008/2009

Nett Warrior2012/2017

•Command & Control

- Soldier: Voice & Data

- Leader: Voice & Data

• Key Attributes

- Weapon: Subsystem

- Radio: EPLRS

- Interoperability: w/ FBCB2

• Size & Weight

- 11 components

- 16 pounds

• Command & Control

- Soldier: No capability


• Key Attributes

- Weapon: Dropped

- Radio: EPLRS

- Interoperability: w/ limited external

assets

• Size & Weight

- 9 components

- 11 pounds


- Soldier: No capability


• Key Attributes

- Weapon: Dropped

- Radio: EPLRS

- Interoperability: - UGV interoperability for

IED Defeat

- Air/Ground Integration thru SADL

• Size & Weight

- 7 components

- 9 pounds


- Soldier: Interoperable with Soldier Voice & PLI

- Leader: Digital Voice & Data

• Key Attributes

- Weapon: Dropped

- Radio: EPLRS/JTRS (P3I) and Open

Architecture

- Interoperability: increased w/ external sensors

(JBC-P and Fire Control Systems)

• Size & Weight

- Minimum essential

- 10 pounds (Objective)

Evolution From Land Warrior To

Ground Soldier System (Nett Warrior):

Current Path to Modernization


Introduction

Cognitive Walkthroughs with Target Audience Soldiers

Several Iterations of User Juries for the Ground Soldier System

• Ease of training

• Intuitiveness

• Speed

• Errors

Limited Hardware Evaluations

Go

to

Undo

Animation

Icons


Occluded Head Mounted Displays

• Currently planned for many systems (NETT Warrior, Common Controller, etc.)

• Lightweight• Relatively high resolution and easier to read• Require less power than many portable devices• Less glare than many portable devices• Hands free

• Both real world and HMD imagery must be within the user’s depth of field, dark focus and dark vergence

• Restricted field of view can impair performance and adversely affect the ability to see the “whole picture” and reduce SA

• Binocular rivalry• Competition for the attention of the wearer/attentional tunneling which

adversely affects dual task performance• Eyestrain and blurry vision• As HMD wearers move their heads, displayed objects in front continue

to be in front and this is unnatural• Motion sickness, often explained as being caused by sensory conflict.• Interference with night vision devices and weapon sights• Fogging due to weather• Potential for placing the musculoskeletal system of the head and neck under increased levels of stress

POTENTIAL PROBLEMS


• Scaling Robotic Displays: Displays and Techniques for Dismounted Movement with Robots– Soldiers performed significantly worse with the GMD than

they did with the HHD on course completion times, driving errors, and the number of times they drove off course.

– Soldiers also preferred the HHD to the GMD and rated the workload with the HHD lower.

Helmet Mounted Displays


Dismounted Land Navigation Study

PTN Tactile System: GPS sensor, electronic compass,

processing unit, battery pack, eight tactors placed equidistant, on a belt

around the torso, worn over T-shirt

LAND WARRIOR HMD GPS SYSTEM

HANDHELD GPS PLGR

1. 24 Soldiers (N = 21)

2. 3 routes, each with 2 waypoints & endpoint, each approx 1800m

3. 3 systems: Tactile, PLGR, LW HMD

4. Order of routes and systems counterbalanced




Dismounted Land Navigation Outcomes

System % ReachedPTN 100PLGR 100LW 100

Target Detection

12.513

13.514

14.515

15.516

16.517

Nav Speed

PTNLWPLGR

0

2

4

6

8

10

Targets

PTNLWPLGR



1

2

3

4

5

6

7

Easy to learn Easy to use Easy to tell wherelocated

Ease to stay onRoute

Accuracy ofguidance

PTNLWSPLGR

Very bad

Very good

Good

Somewhat good

Neutral

Somewhat bad

Bad

Helmet Mounted DisplaysDismounted Land Navigation Soldier Feedback

Fused Night Vision Goggles

Urban Enhanced Night Vision Goggle Enhanced Night Vision Goggle


Scene InterpretationOVERLAY COLOR

• Contrasting color for FLIR

image vs. green I2 image

improves target detection

speed and range.

Bonnett, Redden, & Carstens, 2003

• Contrasting color also

assists in differentiating

terrain characteristics.



High Thermal

Target Detection

Patrolling

Navigation

High I2

Optimal Mix of

I2

and Thermal

Depends on Purpose



Urban Enhanced Night Vision Goggles (UENVG)Urban Enhanced Night Vision Goggles (UENVG)• UENVG is a prototype system used to determine the impact of adding a Short Wave InfraRed (SWIR) capability into the

existing ENVG system.

• SWIR

– works in darker conditions than I2

– can see objects with great clarity on moonless nights because night sky radiance (nearly all in SWIR wavelengths)

emits 5 to 7 times more illumination than starlight )

– is not visible to the human eye but interacts in a similar manner as visible wavelengths

– has shadows and contrast and can see through glass

Flexible Displays• Near term Objectives

–Compare indoor and outdoor sunshine

readability

– Collect Soldier opinions on the technology

• Recent Efforts

– Evaluations at Fort Benning (2009, 2010)

Handheld and Forearm

Instructors from Warrior Training Center

– Evaluation at Fort Bliss (2009)

Survey of 9 prototypes

• Benefits

– Much less glare, lighter, rugged

– Much less power consumption

– Longer battery life


Near-term: Rugged, Low Power, Compact, LightweightFar-term vision: Novel form-factors

Enabled by

FDC’s Unique

GEN II (37x47cm)

Pilot Line toolset

and People 21 Partners Representing:

Display Technology

Manufacturing Tool Suppliers

Materials Developers

Defense Contractors

Conformational Displays

Flexible Displays


Scalability of Robotic Displays: An Evaluation of Controller Display Options

• Evaluated 3 options for TALON controller Display:

- 6.5 inch Split Screen

- 3.5 inch Toggle Screen

- 3.5 inch Toggle Screen plus Tactile belt

Results

• 3.5 Toggle Screen associated with slower

performance and higher workload

than either (A) or (C). No difference between

(A) and (C)

• Tactile belt enabled a smaller screen while

providing cues that supported performance.

Tactile Displays


3.5”Toggle Display 6.5” Split Screen

3.5” Toggle Display with Tactile Belt

Tactile Displays

• Subjective Measures– Task difficulty and SA ratings were worse for the toggle

display.– Some Soldiers preferred the toggle/tactile display

because they felt they were able to pay more attention to the driving display while wearing it.

– Others preferred the split screen display because of the wealth of information provided.

– A fixed position camera and latency cause some driving difficulties.

– The egocentric GPS caused problems when Soldiers glanced away from the screen.


Tactile Displays

See-through Displays

Augmented Reality Display

•The Last 18 Inches: How can you improve perception, squad coordination, and decision making in tactical, high stress urban operations?

•Squads and platoons are not well served by current information systems –

Overloaded: too much 2D, 3D, video data

–Confusing: irrelevant data, old, out-of-scale, inaccurate

–Optimized for strategic levels, not tactical block-to-block, not flowing from bottom-up

–Its getting worse: soldiers/vehicles as sensors, geospatial & human network models

•Most equipment today distracts during operations–

Pain in the neck: heavy, cumbersome, ill-suited for on the move

–Can’t make use when and where needed, intended for desktop

–Need for “on the go” interfaces, computing, sensing

–Independent module development, proliferation of multiple methods (the TV remote problem)

•High stress tactical decision making –

Hard to remember important stuff

–Too much to pay attention to

–Need tools to aid attention and memory



• Extend superiority into short-range combat inside urban and jungle environments.

– Extend collaborative planning, rehearsal, and execution capabilities from company to squad level.

– Enable quieter, non-linear, distributed, increased op tempo, 3D operations (e.g. take down building from 3 directions)

– Enable effective, quick dynamic replanning

– Reduce chaos, fratricide, avoid surprises

Squads Need

Omniscience

&

Telepathy

within the City Block

“I’ve got

your back!”



Make data useful to platoon/squad/soldier in context

Geospatial registration of annotations

Agent-based systems to recognize intent, state

Tools to leverage models for preview, execution, debrief

Relevance at the level of seconds and meters

Make communication for squads and platoons more effective

Integrate planning, execution, and debrief in one system

Improve remote (higher command) understanding of local ops/data/history by

virtual experience

Make interaction with information “on the go”

Overwatch feeding/filtering information selectively

Interface sensors respond to natural body actions, non-screen interfaces

Advances in smaller, lighter, lower power, higher resolution displays, computing,

sensing enable head/body worn approaches

Make overwatch automatic

Plan via analogy

Fuse, filter, prioritize information automatically (learn)


Augmented Reality Display•

Civilian technology offers examples to learn from and leverage… –

Madden Board and first down line – graphics registered in scene images for enhanced communication–

Nintendo Wii as “natural interaction”–

NFL offensive play caller – in booth above field – overwatch feeds info to coach and QB–

Nascar crew chief communication to driver–

“Mission Impossible” controller feeding data and info to agents in mission/field–

Blackberry, iPhone, iPod, HUD (Private Eye) displays and interfaces–

Social information systems like GoogleEarth, Facebook, Wikipedia, wwmx.org, rich info sources with engaging interfaces•

GoogleEarth is an example of local users creating overlays on global 3D base model maintained/updated centrally

Conclusions

•The Dismounted Warfighter is the most difficult customer for displays.

•Display technology continues to advance and today’s failures may be tomorrows successes.

•Displays should be chosen based on mission requirements, echelon level and on environmental

considerations.

•Human factors considerations and experimentation are critical for effective display design.

ADVANCED DISPLAYS FOR DISMOUNTED WARFIGHTERS 21-22 SEPTEMBER 2010

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Transcript of ADVANCED DISPLAYS FOR DISMOUNTED WARFIGHTERS 21-22 SEPTEMBER 2010